The University of Alabama

Located on a 1,000-acre urban campus in Tuscaloosa along the Black Warrior River just 60 miles away from Birmingham, the University of Alabama is a major public student-centered research institution dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, and service. It is designated as a research university with a high level of research activity by the prestigious Carnegie Foundation. Among the largest universities in the state with nearly 35,000 students, UA currently ranks 12th best in the nation among public universities for the enrollment of National Merit Scholars.

As one of the first public universities established in the southwestern frontier of the United States in 1831, the University of Alabama was established as a land-grant seminary of learning by Congress. Although there were just 100 students per year at the academy-style institution during the Antebellum period, the university evolved as the state matured and soon was home to one of the largest libraries in the nation with over 7,000 volumes. After playing a prominent role in the American Civil War and the African American Civil Rights Movement, UA is considered one of the largest and highest ranked universities in the state.

With an outstanding reputation for academic excellence, the University of Alabama is ranked as the 86th best college and 36th top public school in the nation by the U.S. News and World Report. Fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), UA awards bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in 13 academic divisions. Along with having the only publicly supported law school in the state, UA is also renowned for offering programs in anthropology, library information studies, metallurgical engineering, music, Romance languages, and social work, which are unavailable elsewhere in Alabama.

With more than 250 student organizations to get involved in on campus, UA is home to 60 fraternities and sororities in the school's influential Greek system of around 6,000 students. As notorious competitors in the NCAA Division I Southeastern Conference, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide fields 21 men's and women's intercollegiate varsity teams. UA athletics is perhaps best known for having one of the 10 winningest football programs in U.S. history and having one of just four wheelchair basketball teams in the nation. Some of the most notable alumni include broadcaster Joe Scarborough, actress Sela Ward, NFL player Ozzie Newsome, and the co-founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales.