The University of Sheffield is based at Western Bank, Sheffield. It was originally founded in 1879 as Firth College and was established as the University of Sheffield by Royal Charter in 1905. Like many UK universities it is an exempt charity. The University Council is the governing body, and the President and Vice-Chancellor is the chief executive and accountable officer, advised by the University Executive Board.
Teaching and research are organised in five faculties: Arts and Humanities, Engineering, Health, Science and Social Sciences, with 26 academic departments in 2024-25. The university’s facts and figures summary records 27,885 students and 8,786 staff in 2024-25, of whom 3,751 were academic staff. Professor Koen Lamberts, who joined in November 2018, is listed as President and Vice-Chancellor in the Council’s 2026-27 membership.