University of sheffield Firmers

Law, anyone?!

The course is atrociously run, there's no dedicated Aerospace department like at other unis and the department we do have (called the IPO) is not organised at all, we've literally received notifications of things an hour before they were supposed to happen. Notes are also provided at the disgression of module leaders which in practice means that the IPO has to buy them (which they don't always do, especially for the MEC modules, which is a serious pain), and they then hand them out at the IPO office which is quite a small place so on occasion they just tell everyone who has come to collect notes to come back later if it gets too busy. And yeah at the beginning of the year they give a presentation to show how hard it is although what it's really showing is the pass rate, which works out to about 60% year-on-year.

Then for how the modules themselves are run, for two of them so far there are no solutions available for their exam papers, for MEC192 the available solutions are horrendously wrong a lot of the time and despite them having been like this for 3 years so far they haven't changed it, and the marks available for questions can vary wildly e.g. for one question with the exact same wording it was 12 marks in one exam and 3 marks in another. There's also a bunch of lecturers who frankly can't teach, and again they try scare tactics with things like half of the people who take this exam will fail it.

For the content, you don't really do much aerospace in the first year or 2, you have AER120 for the first 7 weeks and that's it really, and like most of the other modules a quick look on wikipedia will show it's unnecessarily dumbed down at times. The equipment for labs is also quite old and doesn't really work properly.

Same here, just really hoping I get the grades! I studied maths, physics, and geography. The course seems really interesting, I went to Manchester and I just didn't like the feel of it, and it felt like there was more of an emphasis on drones than aircraft. Also, I'm considering becoming a pilot (with a degree behind me in case it didn't work out), and so doing aerospace with PPI seemed the best call, along with hopefully joining the UAS and any aero/flying societies. I'm guessing you've flown before right? I'm in air cadets so we've done a lot of flying there and I got my wings for going solo last December in a Grob Heron, had to take 2 weeks out of school for it though. Did my last exam today so now it's just a really long summer lol. I need some stuff to watch or do so I'm not completely bored, even though I didn't think I'd ever be bored given the past few months

AFAIK most of the engineering faculty is staying where they are and the Diamond is mostly for desperately needed extra space for students as the other libraries are pretty much overflowing. It should help with some of the equipment but I think aerospace students won't benefit as much as other disciplines, partly because some departments are getting space in there that they don't really need. When it comes to how everything is run, I'm not sure, it seems to have been a problem for at least the last couple of years which isn't really long enough to tell if it's related to the changes involving moving to the Diamond or not.

edit: also, just saw your other post, Sheffield's course is fairly drone oriented too (e.g.if you're doing the masters you have to do a big group project on building one and the big society for Aero, called Simurq, does a lot of work on drones), although seeing as that's the way things are going I'd disagree it's a bad thing. I'm also pretty sure Sheffield doesn't have a UAS, and for the pilot idea, I don't think I know anyone left on the course who still wants to be a pilot so it will definitely test your dedication.

Wow ok, well I was looking forward to going tbh and I thought it had good reviews... Aren't you looking forward to using the new engineering building though (the diamond?)

Surely that will improve some things


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Quick question, is it true that the diamond will be getting 3 new flight simulators?

But anyway I'm sorry to say but you really do make it sound like a badly, non reputable run course when everything I've heard has told me opposite.

The fact that there is a Boeing research centre in cooperation with Sheffield tells me there must be a very high standard of aerospace within Sheffield. Boeing is an American company and to come to Sheffield and have that much faith in it, it really has to be one of the top in the country. I mean is there any other university in the UK that has that sort of industry link with such a big big player in the sector? I doubt it. And Boeing even sponsor 4 students from Sheffield to do research into different components, hoping they mind find a breakthrough to use in future aircraft.

You should be proud you're going to a top uni, atleast I would!


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The new building will be nice but I don't think it will fix much. I think the good reviews are from a while back when Sheffield was the underdog with BBC entry requirements, but nowadays ask any first or second year and they will complain about the course, the 3rd years say it's OK but that seems to be when the content becomes a bit more interesting, for the Masters program at least.


I'm pretty sure it's only one simulator, although we already have one but the problem is there's no one to run it so I'm not sure that's going to change next year.

The Boeing link is for manufacturing not for aerospace, so in terms of how it will benefit you the answer is practically zero. And even if they were involved with aerospace students the AMRC is almost entirely for postgrads and professors.

I'm proud of the university, not so much the course.

Well Boeing sponsor 4 students across engineering including aero so i don't think it's just manufacturing. The reason I bring it up though is because Boeing think Sheffield's standard are high enough to offer that sort of thing.

We're talking about £3000 every year for four students paid by Boeing.. Thats a huge amount of trust from such a big company into a university.

The undergrad engineering faculty is 1100 so 4 is a minor dent, and I meant Boeing's role at Sheffield is in manufacturing engineering, they don't really care for the aero students.

I don't know where you've got that idea about the funding from, £3,000 p.a. for four students is about normal for a large company, if not on the low side.

Yes, but not a large company from AMERICA. Name one other university in the UK in which Boeing offers even the slightest of sponsorships for students.
Listing the universities in the UK that offer aerospace engineering in general is a much easier task as i'm sure you'll find.

And when you say they don't really 'care' for aero students, i'm struggling to come to terms with that as the whole company focuses on aerospace. Sure they may focus on manufacturing more, but manufacturing is a part of aerospace anyway, and that manufacturing engineering will almost certainly be in the application of aerospace vehicles such as drones or aircraft...

Bristol, they offer sponsorship to Bristol, and considering I got that from searching Boeing scholarships UK it was a much easier task than finding every uni that offers aerospace. Honestly the industry links are Sheffield are pretty poor, and very few people I know have gotten internships, if you're looking for industry links places like Bristol and Bath are much better.

The thing you have to learn about aero is that it's not a specialised degree, it's a general degree, so a lot of the time aerospace companies will be hiring mechanical engineers or electrical engineers, computer scientists instead who have learnt things to a greater depth. So yes manufacturing is a part of aerospace and even a small part of the degree, but not enough that it will get you noticed. Heck a while back Aero students were applying for certain internships and jobs and the engineering jobs office received complaints from some companies because they specifically didn't want Aero students.

Yes you're correct, but you fail to mention only 2 students from Bristol got it and it was a one off in 2013.. They don't receive the scholarships on an annual basis like Sheffield do

And ok I get your point about that, but I know a heck of a lot of aerospace graduates from a variety of universities including Sheffield who have secured places in Airbus, rolls Royce and GKN.. It's very unlikely they'll find employment in Boeing but that's not my point.

A lot of students who wish to become aerospace engineers pick aerospace engineering without knowing the fact that the actual employers may prefer you taking a more specialised subject. BUT that's exactly why firms like Airbus still take aerospace students, because they know they're the most interested in that field.


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Yep you're right, they seem to give an aerospace scholarship every two years and the electrical scholarship is annual.

Also agreed about the graduate positions, Sheffield grads definitely do secure places in engineering, highest rate in the country I think, but my point was how the course itself is.

Airbus takes aerospace students because they have very stringent selection and interview criteria (2 days for bachelor's, 5 days for master's, both Europe wide searches), so they can afford to take the risk.

It's just I was really looking forward to going to Sheffield and working my ass off to get the grades (although I know they can be lenient sometimes).. But Sheffield seemed perfect for me because they offer engineering and flight experience (my main career goal isn't actually to be an engineer haha it's to be a pilot)

It's really nice to have a students opinion who's there now but I've also done my research and I know Sheffield is one of the best universities, they're known for their engineering. So as you're a student you've seriously picked the right place if you want to become an engineer.

The course may not be ideal as you're saying and I respect that, I hope they improve next year when I come but I'm sure you won't have trouble finding a job once you come to graduate just because you have Sheffield on your CV.

They're not the best, not like imperial/bath/Cambridge etc, but they're up there I'll tell you now


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It's a good thing to be a Sheffield aerospace graduate, I would even go as far as saying that a Sheffield graduate has the same opportunities as graduates from those places. But like I said, being a Sheffield aerospace student isn't a great experience and when you're spending 4 years there and it can have a significant effect on your grades and well-being, getting to the end becomes quite a chore and maybe not worth it over other places.

That's fair enough then, I hope it isn't too bad.. What year are you in then? Will you still be there next year?


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i am!!

I applied for Dual Hons History and Philosophy. Wouldn't mind getting to know some of the History or Philosophy Firms, see what boat they're in etc.

What books can I read before the course starts (aerospace) ?