Sheffield or Reading for psychology 2026?

Hi, year 13. I’ve received all 5 of my offers (Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield and reading) for entry 2026. Sheffield and reading are my top choices. I want to study psych. After graduating I’d be looking to go into the research field looking at neurodegenerative diseases. Readings research is amazing, I got a good look at the labs and loved it, they have their own MRI machine, pain labs and excellent placements in industry. Sheffields research I’ve looked into less but when I went there I loved the vibes and could really see myself there (not that reading wasn’t also lovely). Could anyone who does psych at either of these unis let me know their experience, I’d really appreciate it to help me make my choice about firm and insurance (both are offering the same grades)

Hi, year 13. I’ve received all 5 of my offers (Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield and reading) for entry 2026. Sheffield and reading are my top choices. I want to study psych. After graduating I’d be looking to go into the research field looking at neurodegenerative diseases. Readings research is amazing, I got a good look at the labs and loved it, they have their own MRI machine, pain labs and excellent placements in industry. Sheffields research I’ve looked into less but when I went there I loved the vibes and could really see myself there (not that reading wasn’t also lovely). Could anyone who does psych at either of these unis let me know their experience, I’d really appreciate it to help me make my choice about firm and insurance (both are offering the same grades)

As someone at Uni in Sheffield and who lives near Reading, Sheffield is sooo much better! I swear everyone and their nan does Psych here and they all seem to really enjoy it. If you enjoy biology there is also a LOT of neuroscience going on here, and many psych students can pick these modules/do the SURE scheme for this sort of research in summers. 🙂

Hi @ItsVia18!
Congratulations on receiving all of your offers- that's fantastic! It's great to hear that you're considering Sheffield, it really is an amazing place to study! I had the same feeling when I visited Sheffield for the first time and I truly have loved my time studying here so far!
The Psychology course here is well-known for providing students with good access to research. According to our website,' 92% of our Psychology departments research is rated in the highest two categories in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, meaning it is classed as world-leading or internationally excellent'. You can find out more about the research aspect of the course and facilities here. Sheffield is a bit of a hub for neurodegenerative disease research, with both the Hallamshire Hospital Neurology department, and the Universities SITraN (Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience). You can read more about SITraN here.
On our website, you can also see a page from a previous Psychology student, who was involved in Multiple Sclerosis research during her degree. I thought her experience might be of interest to you, so I've linked this here. I also wanted to highlight that the University run the 'SURE' scheme that you could apply to during your studies here, where you gain additional research exposure within a research team over the Summer. This is really popular with students and I've heard that it's a great experience!
Though I study Medicine, not Psychology, I have several friends who studied Psychology here (now graduated), who really enjoyed the course (with most progressing to Masters afterwards!). One of them did a placement year, the others did not, but all found that they managed to pursue their personal research interests while on the course.
If you haven't already, I would really recommend coming to the next Offer Holder day, as it would allow you to explore the Psychology department, their research facilities, and allow you to ask current students about their experience. You can also chat to current students who study Psychology here at Sheffield via our online chat system (linked here). They would be more than happy to give their experience of the course, as well as research opportunities and facilities here at Sheffield!
Is there anything else that I can help with in regards to the Psychology course or Uni of Sheffield itself? 🙂
-Alicia, Final Year Medical Student + Intercalated BSc Medical Research Sciences

Hi there, I moved your thread to the psychology forums where hopefully someone that can answer you can spot your thread and answer it!
But in the meantime, if you haven't done so already, I'd suggest going to their offer holders day. You'll get a good perspective of both unis that way to help you decide.