What Students Say
Likes
- Great Professors The professors were working on cutting-edge AI/ML research at Sheffield, primarily in NLP and Robotics. I personally worked with a leading robotics researcher on path planning and optimization and got thorough hands-on experience.
- State-of-the-Art Infrastructure
- Up-to-Date Course Content - The course content was up to date and contained all latest technology. We went through latest ML research papers to see the advancement in the field and how this has come about from the earlier methods.
Dislikes
- Extremely Short Classes for In-depth Courses - Complex topics like BERT and Langchain were rushed due to limited time allocation. There wasn't enough time to cover advanced topics thoroughly.
- Expensive for International Students
- Very Few Graduate Student Events - Events were primarily focused on undergraduate students, with limited activities planned for graduate students.
Required Exams for Admission
Course Curriculum
10
- Difficulty of Curriculum - 8/10, Theoretical concepts were covered for the first few classes before plunging us headfirst into practical demonstrations and hands on projects. I can only remember classes fondly as they were very detailed and thorough with great interaction between professors and students.
- Most of the teaching was done in a practical manner. Most courses required us to build things from end to end to see how systems would work in a production environment. The projects involved in the courses were from real data from NHS, Inhouse testing systems and so on. This helped us get hands on experience with real world data that needed proper optimization.
Admission Experience
- Applied to:-
-
The University of Sheffield - Admitted
University of Strathclyde - Admitted
University of Stirling - Admitted
Kings College London - Rejected
Imperial College - Rejected
University of Bath - Admitted
Durham University - Rejected - I think the reason why I got rejected from Imperial and Kings College are due to the extremely high CGPA required to even make it to the cutoff for their top courses.
- The courses that were offered for the degree that I chose were more in line with what I wanted to learn over the other colleges.
- The admission process involved submitting all previous education documents and work experience certificates as well as detailing all my accomplishments. I had to write a statement of purpose as well as a scholarship essay during my application. There was a need for IELTS and GRE Scores as well. (Min. IELTS - 8.0, Min GRE - 250). Post this there was a admission panel consideration of my profile and due to my excellent credentials, I was offered the chance to skip ahead any further admission processes and to instead join the campus in 2 months.
- The admission experience was fairly smooth and nothing out of the ordinary. Full support provided by the university and there are personnel on call to ensure that you are having a great time.
- 2022 Intake and the admission process took approximately 2 months. I was fresh out of undergrad and I wanted to pursue a career in data science for which a deeper understanding of the process is required which is why i chose to go in 2022.
- 6th June 2022 - Applied to TUoS
- 20th June 2022 - Asked to submit SoP and Scholarship essay
- 12 July 2022 - Told that the process is completed and will be notified of the next steps
- 28th July 2022 - Admit Letter
- This was then followed by visa application and so on to prepare for my eventual joining on their campus at Sheffield on 16th September.
Class Schedule
10
- The classes were static and would move around based on the courses that an individual selects for the semester.
- I always scheduled my classes for the morning and left my afternoon time empty.
- We usually had around 3-4 hours of classes a day and 5 hours on lab days since labs require 2 hours (2 lab days).
Faculty
10
- Faculty members do not assist in job hunts but the institute has a wing that deals with bringing in companies to connect with students.
- I really enjoyed studying Machine Learning and Adaptive Intelligence as well as Professional Ethics, headed by Dr Michael Smith and Dr. Guy Brown respectively. They made class enjoyable, toyed around with thought experiments and genuinely made an effort to make us think about things instead of just rote learning.
- There were around 100 students in our class. Only about 10 were Indian. The faculty to student ratio was about 1:20. It definitely does affect the teaching situation but our regular meetings and open office hours ensured that students were never short of guidance.
Campus Life
10
- There is only 1 campus and yes there was a library, sports facilities, and medical services.
- I do not know about any of the extracurricular events that took place on campus because as a graduate student I did not have the opportunity nor the time to focus on such stuff.
- I was a part of the computer science society that usually hung out after university hours and spend time on hackathons and puzzles.
Part Time Jobs
- At The University of Sheffield, Teaching Assistant (TA) positions are exclusively reserved for PhD students, with no opportunities available for Master's students. However, all students are permitted to work up to 20 hours per week, combining both on-campus and off-campus employment opportunities.
- The university offers various on-campus work options including positions at the campus grocery store, university clothing store, and administrative roles within the placement division where students can assist in organizing job fairs and coordinating with companies. Additionally, students can participate in campus-based non-profit ventures.
- All employment must strictly adhere to student visa regulations and university policies, with the 20-hour weekly work limit being firmly enforced to ensure students maintain an appropriate balance between their work commitments and academic studies.
- Working wages in Sheffield range from 7.50-13.50 pounds per hour. Finding a job depends heavily on the time of year you're looking. Christmas, New Year and Valentines day periods offer plenty of opportunities, especially with companies like Amazon and EVRI where they need students for shipping and manual labour work.
- Students must first get their National Insurance Number before they can start applying to jobs. Most jobs are posted on Indeed and usually don't need interviews since they're just part time gigs. The whole process is pretty simple - once you have your National Insurance Number, you can start applying and usually get hired quickly for these seasonal positions.
Placement
8
- Around 85-90% of students from my batch at Sheffield found jobs within 6 months of graduating. The average starting salary ranges from 28000-32000 pounds annually, though some roles in London pay higher at 35,000-40,000 pounds.
- Most students find jobs through the university's career fairs and job portal. Companies like HSBC, Lloyds, and Natwest regularly visit for campus recruitment. The university hosts about 4-5 career fairs each year where students can directly interact with employers. LinkedIn and networking events also play a big role - I personally got interviews through LinkedIn connections with Sheffield alumni.
Accommodation
Off Campus
10
- I found my accommodation through online websites and the rent was 115 pounds per week. There were no major challenges apart from the fact that booking the accommodation required me to connect with people in the UK and that required me to spend money on international talktime.
- For future students, just start looking for places around 3-4 months before your course starts otherwise you might end up not securing the place as they usually run out due to high demand.
- My accommodation was only 200m from my university.
Exams
- For admission, Sheffield required a minimum IELTS score of 8 and GRE score of 250.
- I submitted these along with my Statement of Purpose, Letters of Recommendation, and Resume.
- The standard interview process was waived in my case.
- The university maintained clear communication throughout the application process, ensuring all required documentation was properly submitted.
Fees
- Total Tuition - 26,500 Pounds
- 13,500p is charged for the first semester and 13000 for the second.
- I found my own stay and did not opt for university provided accommodation. I paid 115 pounds per week. I used to walk to university so there were no transportation costs. Monthly costs for groceries, stationary and other miscellaneous expenses came around 200 pounds per month.
Scholarship
- I received International Postgraduate Taught Scholarship 2022 worth 2500 pounds. The criteria was the equivalent of a 2:1 or above grade at an undergraduate level with at least 12 credits or equivalent in graduate courses. Some of my batchmates received this scholarship as well.
- The amount is fixed at 2500 pounds and does not change but it is only offered to about 200 or so students for the years intake.
