Colleges in Alabama

Alabama provides a variety of different private and public institutions. University of Alabama is arguably the largest public university, but there are also smaller colleges such as Huntingdon College. The selection makes it easy to find a school that matches interests and degree programs. While there are over a hundred schools in Alabama, the following are some of the best in the state whether you're looking for a big public university or a private Christian institution.

University of Alabama - Huntsville

With an enrollment of 7,681 students, this public university has a variety of popular programs in business, engineering, nursing and research.

Founded in 1950, the Huntsville campus also partners with NASA, Pratt & Whitney, U.S. Arm and other important companies to provide better programs for their students. The school has been ranked high in the nation by U.S. News and World Report as well as the Carnegie Foundation, which found that it had very high marks for research.

Huntsville offers 71 degree programs in all with 33 bachelor's degree programs, 23 Master's degree programs and 15 PhD programs. The schools for the degrees include engineering, business, liberal arts, nursing and science.

University of Alabama

University of Alabama is one of the oldest schools in the U.S. Founded in 1831, the main campus of UA is located in Tuscaloosa. Widely known for its strong athletic program that includes NCAA Division 1 football, UA is a top public university with a strong liberal arts and sciences program.

It's also a larger campus with nearly 29,000 students. The school has 13 academic divisions including arts and sciences, commerce, business administration, communication and information sciences, community health sciences, continuing studies, education, engineering, human environmental sciences, nursing, law and social work.

Auburn University

Auburn is another historic college in Alabama. With over 150 degree programs and hundreds of student organizations, Auburn University was founded in 1856 and is one of the top choices for students in Alabama.

Auburn is ranked highly by almost all academic ranking institution. U.S. News and World Report ranked the public school as the 82nd university in the nation among both public and private colleges as well as 37th among public universities. In addition, the school has Division 1 athletic programs. Each of Auburn's schools also has an above average rating which includes business, education, engineering, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, public affairs, audiology, psychology, public affairs, computer science, English and biology.

Birmingham Southern College

With an enrollment of just 1,549, Birmingham Southern College is one of the smaller yet strong liberal arts and sciences schools in the state. Known for being a private Methodist liberal arts college, Birmingham Southern College offers good financial aid programs and a great repertoire between faculty and students.

Huntingdon College

Located in Montgomery, Huntingdon is a historic private Methodist college with only about 1,075 undergraduates. It's faculty to student ratio is 15 to 1, and the average class size is about 20 students. With popular business degrees and financial aid grant programs, students have an easier time paying tuition.

Samford University

While bigger than some of the smaller schools, Samford University still only has about 4,600 students. As a private Christian university located in Birmingham, it's the largest one in Alabama and has almost 140 undergraduate majors. In addition, all classes are taught by professors, not graduate students. Samford is also a member of the NCAA Division Southern Conference.

University of Montevallo

Montevallo has to be one of the most beautiful areas to go to school. The campus spans 160 acres and at the center is the National Historic District. University of Montevallo is a public liberal arts college with 75 majors and a 16 to 1 faculty to student ratio.

There are plenty of other public and private institutions in Alabama, but these are the top ranked in the state and provide the best variety in education.

Alabama's Bustling Economy

Alabama is widely known as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. The state has grown so much in recent years with investments in education, health care, banking, aerospace, agriculture and automobile manufacturing. These industries play a large role in the steadfast and growing economy of this state, which has brought a large number of investors and companies to the area.

Agriculture has long been Alabama's prime industry, but this has slowly changed as the state has made more investments in businesses and aerospace. Still, this southern state outputs include eggs, poultry, cattle, fish, peanuts, cotton, corn, milk, peaches and soybeans. Alabama is also one of the largest cotton producers though it ranks nearly tenth in the nation for production.

Much of Alabama is also devoted to military branches like Redstone Arsenal and Maxwell Air Force Base. These are two of the major employers in the state accounting for nearly 40,000 jobs in Alabama. Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army post that is near Huntsville in Madison County. Maxwell Air Force Base was established in 1910 and is located in Montgomery. It's also the headquarters of Air University, which is the main campus for all trainees to learn air education and training command.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is also one of the larger employers in the state with nearly 20,000 jobs overall. This number also includes UAB Hospital, which is a teaching hospital that is located in the Medical Center District of campus.

Education is one of the most popular degree programs in the state largely because the public school systems account for many jobs in the state. For example, nearly 10,000 jobs are held by Mobile County Public School system faculty.

In addition to these large employers, AT&T, Boeing, Wal-Mart, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Regions Financial Corporation, Hyundai and multiple healthcare locations account for thousands of jobs in the state.

Unemployment in Alabama has gone down considerably in the past recent years, but it has always remained below the national average for unemployment. With a large part of the state's resources going to public schools and assistance programs, Alabama residents are able to find jobs quickly in a variety of industries.

Found 126 Post-Secondary Schools In Alabama


Title City State Type Enrollment
Winonahs School of Cosmetology Homewood AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
White and Sons Barber College Mobile AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
University of West Alabama Livingston AL 4-year public 1924
University of South Alabama - Baldwin Fairhope AL 4-year public 8342
University of South Alabama Mobile AL 4-year public 11673
University of North Alabama Florence AL 4-year public 5601
University of Montevallo Montevallo AL 4-year public 3014
University of Mobile Mobile AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 1968
University of Alabama System Office Tuscaloosa AL Central office or Administrative Unit No Data
University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville AL 4-year public 6563
University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham AL 4-year public 14951
United States Sports Academy Daphne AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 354
Tuskegee University Tuskegee AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 2826
Troy University Troy AL 4-year public 12541
Troy State University Dothan Dothan AL 4-year public 1958
Troy State University - Phenix City Phenix City AL 4-year public No Data
Troy State University - Montgomery Montgomery AL 4-year public 3090
The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa AL 4-year public 19277
Talladega College Talladega AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 475
Stillman College Tuscaloosa AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 1530
Spring Hill College Mobile AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 1484
Southern Union State Community College Wadley AL 2-year public 4017
Southern Community College Tuskegee AL 2-year private, not-for-profit 42
Southern Christian University Montgomery AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 294
Southeastern Institute of Technology Huntsville AL 4-year private, not-for-profit No Data
Southeastern Bible College Birmingham AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 52
South University - Montgomery Montgomery AL 4-year private, for-profit 207
South Alabama Beauty College Foley AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Snead State Community College Boaz AL 2-year public 1579
Shelton State Community College - C A Fredd Campus Tuscaloosa AL 2-year public 153
Shelton State Community College Tuscaloosa AL 2-year public 5330
Selma University Selma AL 4-year private, not-for-profit No Data
Scientific Beauty Academy Huntsville AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Samford University Birmingham AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 4379
Roebuck Beauty School Birmingham AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Remington College - Mobile Mobile AL 4-year private, for-profit 578
Reid State Technical College Evergreen AL 2-year public 706
Realty South Real Estate Institute Vestavia Hills AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Rays University of Beauty Florence AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Prince Institute of Professional Studies Inc Montgomery AL 2-year private, for-profit 94
Oakwood College Huntsville AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 1767
Northwest Shoals Community College - Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals AL 2-year public 3826
Northeast Alabama Community College Rainsville AL 2-year public 1659
North Alabama Skills Center Birmingham AL Less than 2-year public No Data
New Wave Beauty Academy Albertville AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit 29
New Beginnings College of Cosmetology Albertville AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Montgomery Area Skill Center Opelika AL 2-year public No Data
Mitchell Cosmetology College Alabaster AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Miles College Fairfield AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 1502
Masters Institute of Cosmetology Huntsville AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Marion Military Institute Marion AL 2-year private, not-for-profit 175
Lurleen B Wallace Community College Andalusia AL 2-year public 802
Lindas School of Beauty Fultondale AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Lawson State Community College - Birmingham Campus Birmingham AL No Data
Lawson State Community College - Bessemer Campus Bessemer AL 2-year public 1314
Judson College Marion AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 321
Johnsons Beauty School Huntsville AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
John M Patterson State Technical College Montgomery AL 2-year public 986
John C Calhoun State Community College Tanner AL 2-year public 7719
Jefferson State Community College Birmingham AL 2-year public 5652
Jefferson Davis Community College Brewton AL 2-year public 1129
Jasper Beauty Academy Jasper AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
James H Faulkner State Community College Bay Minette AL 2-year public 2775
Jacksonville State University Jacksonville AL 4-year public 7844
J F Ingram State Technical College Deatsville AL 2-year public 630
J F Drake State Technical College Huntsville AL 2-year public 543
ITT Technical Institute Bessemer AL 4-year private, for-profit 363
Huntsville Hospital School of Radiologic Techn Huntsville AL 2-year private, not-for-profit No Data
Huntingdon College Montgomery AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 657
Hueytown Beauty School Hueytown AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Holland Jewelery School Selma AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Herzing College Birmingham AL 4-year private, for-profit 534
Heritage Christian University Florence AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 110
Harry M Ayers State Technical College Anniston AL 2-year public 1112
H Councill Trenholm State Technical College Montgomery AL 2-year public 663
Gold Dust Flying Service Eastaboga AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
George C Wallace State Community College - Selma Selma AL 2-year public 1445
George C Wallace State Community College - Hanceville Hanceville AL 2-year public 4696
George C Wallace Community College - Dothan Dothan AL 2-year public 3612
Gaither and Company Beauty College Scottsboro AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit 31
Gadsden State Community College Gadsden AL 2-year public 4787
Gadsden Business College - Anniston Anniston AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit 167
Gadsden Business College Rainbow City AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit 162
First School of Real Estate Birmingham AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Faulkner University - Mobile Mobile AL 2-year private, not-for-profit No Data
Faulkner University - Birmingham Birmingham AL 2-year private, not-for-profit No Data
Faulkner University Montgomery AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 2704
Faulkner University Huntsville AL 2-year private, not-for-profit No Data
Faith Grant College Birmingham AL 4-year private, not-for-profit No Data
Enterprise - Ozark Community College Enterprise AL 2-year public 1590
East Lake Beauty College Birmingham AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Douglas Macarthur State Technical College Opp AL 2-year public 473
Dch Regional Medical Center Radiographer Program Tuscaloosa AL 2-year public No Data
Concordia College Selma AL 4-year private, not-for-profit 532
Community College of the Air Force Montgomery AL 2-year public 378162
Commercial Driver Institute Inc Oxford AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Chattahoochee Valley Community College Phenix City AL 2-year public 1748
Charles Academy of Beauty Culture Mobile AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Central Alabama Community College Alexander City AL 2-year public 1577
Center Point Beauty School Birmingham AL Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data

Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/

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