Biomedical Engineering KCL vs Sheffield

Hi everyone,

I am having a hard time with deciding between KCL and Sheffield for biomedical engineering.

I have seen and heard that Sheffield is excellent for engineering and academically speaking I love the course and the iforge makerspace which I think is a big plus. I do like Kings course and I understand that Kings is also highly regarded for biomedical engineering and is known internationally whereas Sheffield is not. Additionally, Kings being located in London means that there are probably better job prospects. Sheffield has an 86% employment rate and King's is 89% which I don't think is a huge difference? Non academically I lean more towards Sheffield as the cost of living is much less as well as the accommodation prices which are insane in London. I also feel like Sheffield is much safer.

If anyone could give me any advice or opinions with anything regrading both unis or even about other unis I would greatly appreciate it :smile:

Reply 1

University of Sheffield Students

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

Hi everyone,
I am having a hard time with deciding between KCL and Sheffield for biomedical engineering.
I have seen and heard that Sheffield is excellent for engineering and academically speaking I love the course and the iforge makerspace which I think is a big plus. I do like Kings course and I understand that Kings is also highly regarded for biomedical engineering and is known internationally whereas Sheffield is not. Additionally, Kings being located in London means that there are probably better job prospects. Sheffield has an 86% employment rate and King's is 89% which I don't think is a huge difference? Non academically I lean more towards Sheffield as the cost of living is much less as well as the accommodation prices which are insane in London. I also feel like Sheffield is much safer.
If anyone could give me any advice or opinions with anything regrading both unis or even about other unis I would greatly appreciate it :smile:

Hi,
I am an MSc Cancer Biology and Therapeutics student at the University of Sheffield. I also did a BSc in Biochemistry at Sheffield, so I have spent a few years here and really enjoyed it! Both KCL and Sheffield are good and well-respected universities.

I obviously can't give you any person experiences regarding Biomedical Engineering, but Sheffield's Engineering department is very well-respected. Sheffield was rated as Number 1 in the Russell Group for Bioengineering, Medical and Biomedical Engineering in the National Student Survey in 2024 and was rated as Top 5 for Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024. I have a few friends who have studied Bioengineering and other Engineering courses, and they have all really enjoyed it. 🙂

I have loved my time at Sheffield, it is an extremely friendly city and university environment. Sheffield has a very relaxed feel to it, especially compared to London. Yet, there is still lots to do, with many lovely cafes, restaurants and other activities. The Peak District is also ~20 mins away, and many students like going hiking as a break from their studies. We also have an award-winning students union with many sports clubs and societies, which makes it easy to make friends with people that have similar interests to you. For example, I really enjoy Art society :smile:

I think attending open days is a great way to get a feel for each university. If you are able to attend some open days, I would highly recommend it. It can be really helpful to just take in the atmosphere of each university, look at the facilities and talk to lecturers about the course.

I wish you all the best with your university journey. I hope this helped,
Sofia (BSc Biochemistry/ MSc Cancer Biology and Therapeutics)