The Hardman Rankings

← World University Rankings 2026

The University of Sheffield

United KingdomROR 05krs5044
=225
World University Rankings 2026 · 90% range 137–527 of 2,287 · score 51.7
Research Index =139

How it scores

Research
94
Alumni outcomes
81
Admissions & earnings
35/91

Research and Alumni outcomes are percentiles among 2,287 universities; alumni outcomes are counted per student. Admissions & earnings is the position among universities in the same country (United Kingdom).

Admissions, outcomes and alumni

Offer rate (UK 18-year-olds, UCAS)
81.9% src
Offer holders who enrol
16% src
Median earnings 5 years after graduating (LEO)
£36,100 src
Internationally notable alumni (Wikidata)
17 src
Heads of state or government (Wikidata)
1 src
Founders, billionaires and $30M+ alumni
not on the published top lists; estimated
Students (undergraduate / total)
20,215 / 28,280 src

Each figure links to its source. Admissions and earnings figures are comparable only within a country.

Research Index

A · Quality
85.1
B · Strength
86.2

Percentiles among 1,305 ranked universities. Rank on quality alone: =182. On strength alone: 181. The Research Index scores research only; admissions, earnings and alumni outcomes are scored in the overall ranking where data exists.

The numbers behind it (2020–2023)

Papers in the top 10% of their field
13.2% (12.6%–13.8%)
Papers in the top 1% of their field
1.4% (1.2%–1.6%)
Top-10% papers (fractional count)
1,022
All papers (fractional count)
7,730
International co-authored
58.4%
Open access
83.6%
Papers from 2020–23 since retracted
18 (0.91 per 1,000)

Core publications, fractional counting, field-normalised citation shares. Brackets show Leiden’s stability interval. Collaboration and open-access shares use full counting and aren’t field-normalised. Retraction counts come from the Retraction Watch database and include publishers’ mass retractions as well as honest-error retractions; a retraction is not by itself evidence of misconduct, and the count is never scored.

By field

Biomedical & health sciences=83range 62–128 of 1,671
Life & earth sciences179range 120–289 of 1,092
Mathematics & computer science461range 315–627 of 1,391
Physical sciences & engineering265range 187–395 of 1,742
Social sciences & humanities41range 27–96 of 1,262

Position over time

top 10%2006–2009: 100 of 5712020–2023: 139 of 1,305

The same method applied to each 4-year publication window. The number of ranked universities grows from period to period, so position is shown as a share of the field.

How other rankings place it

=139Research Index 2026
=82QS 2027
–THE 2027 (not in top 100)
–ARWU 2026 (not in top 100)

Other rankings are cited for comparison. The Research Index measures research only; QS and THE also use reputation surveys and figures universities submit, and ARWU counts prize winners and total output.

Prize winners

Alumni laureates
2
Staff laureates
4

Alumni: 2 Nobel. Most recent: Harry Kroto (Nobel Chemistry, 1996), Richard Roberts (Nobel Medicine, 1993). Counted from Wikidata (CC0). Alumni laureates count toward the overall ranking per student (10 of 65 global weight points); staff laureates are shown for context only.