Christian reveals his first-hand experience of life as a student at both Uni’s Sheffield Hallam and the University of Sheffield, having lived in the City of Sheffield for three and a half years experiencing both the perks and flaws of Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield, having studied at both over the years. 

Experience at Sheffield Hallam University

Originally living in Broomhall for two years at Hallam, I certainly lived up to the typical freshers’ stereotype, going out every week, going to uni with a huge hangover, and joining new societies. At Sheffield Hallam I found that being in close proximity to the town centre I was able to engage in local Sheffield life and made some of the best memories of my life, still feeling a strong link to the city centre and spending a lot of time there despite being at Collegiate Campus a little way out of town. I certainly found Sheffield Hallam a much more social university, and always felt that there were people around wanting to do things both on my course, in my accommodation, and who I know through societies, and found the workload at Sheffield Hallam highly manageable, while the topics we discussed in lectures and seminars were easily applicable to my skills and to my previous studies.

Experience at the University of Sheffield

However, towards my third year at Hallam I began to mature, and once studying at the University of Sheffield in the fourth year for my masters found I was experiencing a different side of Sheffield University life than I had done previously. Although I continued to live with friends from Hallam, and still spend more time with people from Hallam, I was living in closer proximity to Uni Of, and went to societies at Uni of Sheffield in equal proximity to Hallam. Although I personally had preferred my time at Hallam in terms of social life and experiences, this probably does not provide a neutral view of the two universities, and I still hold strong memories of friends from Uni Of having attended societies and been involved in organising student conferences at the university. Further to this, I would certainly say I have a considerable amount more professional experience from Uni Of, both because of the increased prestige of the university, and the opportunities which came with it, such as organising Model United Nations conferences and being encouraged to complete more reading and other work which has certainly benefitted me in the long run academically and professionally.

Differences between the two Sheffield Universities

It would be impossible for me to rank the two universities (although I undoubtedly have better memories from the time I was at Hallam), but the two universities offer very different things, both in terms of different courses and different opportunities, with Hallam being a little more towards going out and drinking, and Uni Of towards societies and more organised social events.

Written by Christian Brookes, BA in Politics at Sheffield Hallam University and MA in International Relations at University of Sheffield 

Student life in Sheffield - Sheffield Hallam vs University Of | Sheffield Varsity, 2015 on Vimeo.