Grants and Writing Resources for the University of Sheffield

A PhD student at the Leonardo Centre for Tribology won the 2026 Institute of Physics Innovation in Tribology award, the University reported in October 2026. The work is an ultrasonic method for looking inside running, unmodified machine bearings. One stationary sensor, used much like a medical ultrasound scanner, captures the lubricant film without taking the bearing apart. In tests it revealed lubricant starvation.

Summer Research for Undergraduates

The Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) has run since 2009 and funds scholarships for about 100 students a year. It is open to undergraduates in any discipline who are in neither their first nor their final year. Each student works with an academic on a summer project and designs the research methods, which might be experiments, archival analysis, interviews, surveys or a literature review. Every project ends with a piece of dissemination shown at a research showcase exhibition.

Postgraduate Scholarships

Sheffield's list of master's scholarships for home fee-paying students covers 2026 entry. Two Ragdoll - School of English Postgraduate Scholarships put £10,000 toward tuition fees for students starting a taught course in the School of English, and two Dan Walker Journalism Scholarships do the same for the MA Journalism; both ask applicants to meet at least one widening participation criterion. The Petrie Watson Scholarship gives two Sheffield graduates £4,000 each for a taught course in the School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities or the School of Languages, Arts and Societies.

For doctoral study, the University's PhD scholarships page lists the Hossein Farmy Scholarships, which fund research in the Arthur Scargill Archives. Schools and supervisors may also have funding for specific projects, advertised in the PhD projects directory or on school webpages.

Study Skills and Proofreading Guidance

The 301 Academic Skills Centre, MASH, the Library and the English Language Teaching Centre now work together as StudySkills@Sheffield, open to all students. Its academic writing guides cover planning, argument, referencing and formatting, and the service runs workshops, appointments and drop-in sessions.

The service's proofreading guide states that the University does not endorse paid proofreading services and that students who use them do so at their risk. All writing submitted for assessment must be the student's work, so any external input carries a risk of plagiarism. The guide allows GenAI tools for feedback on grammar, vocabulary and clarity but treats copying and pasting from them as plagiarism, and many departments ask for a declaration of AI use.

Rules for Research Theses

Sheffield's guidance on preparing a thesis sets out acceptable support. The supervisory team may ask for unclear text to be rewritten, help correct grammar and sentence construction, advise on structure and expression, and proofread. Students who need more help with written English are referred to the English Language Teaching Centre. Anyone else engaged to proofread may change only spelling and grammar and must not be able to change the content of the thesis.

From 1 October 2026, every submitted thesis must include a GenAI self-declaration stating whether and how GenAI was used, and the corrected copy deposited in White Rose Etheses Online carries it too. Word limits come from faculty guidelines, which run from 40,000 words for an MPhil to 75,000 for most PhDs, 80,000 in Science and up to 100,000 in Social Sciences, excluding footnotes, bibliography and appendices.

On a Sheffield research thesis our editors correct spelling and grammar only and leave the content as written, which is the limit the University sets for proofreaders. For taught coursework, check your school's rules before using any outside service. See our University of Sheffield dissertation and thesis editing and University of Sheffield essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• How to Avoid Academic Dishonesty: Citing and Quoting Sources
• The Results Chapter: Presenting Data with Forensic Clarity
• Literature Synthesis: Moving Beyond the Summary toward Authority