General Information

Role Statement

UAB’s undergraduate instructional programs are broad-based and designed to serve the needs of a diverse student body without sacrificing a strong general education foundation. Programs range from the liberal arts and sciences to professionally oriented studies, including business, education, engineering, and the health disciplines. UAB’s baccalaureate offerings are shaped by its location in the state’s largest metropolitan area, by its mandate to serve a large and heterogeneous constituency, by its responsibility to contribute to the economic and professional development of Birmingham and the state, and by its role of providing support to a nationally recognized academic health sciences center.

At the graduate level, programs serve the career needs of educators and business leaders, as well as those involved in advancing the frontiers of the health sciences. UAB has the primary responsibility for meeting the state’s health professional needs. It offers a comprehensive range of programs that encompass both basic preparation and sophisticated graduate and specialty training in medicine, dentistry, optometry, nursing, the health professions and public health.

UAB has a very diverse student body, with first-generation students making up 34 percent of the freshman class in fall 2023. The university has been recognized as a Diversity Champion by Insight Into Diversity magazine for five straight years, one of only 16 institutions nationally to receive this designation.

As one of the nation’s leading research institutions, UAB emphasizes both basic and applied research. UAB’s urban setting has led to the development of numerous research programs that are responsive to the city’s economic, social, and cultural needs. Much of the research conducted at UAB is interdisciplinary in nature and is organized through centers that bring together experts in a number of related fields to concentrate on a particular problem or issue. UAB’s research grants and contracts totaled $774.5 million in 2023 and the university currently ranks among the top 1 percent of all institutions — public, private and international — funded by the National Institutes of Health. All six health-related UAB schools are in the top 15 among public universities in NIH funding.

As the senior public doctoral-level institution in the state’s major urban area, UAB is also committed to providing comprehensive programs in continuing education consistent with the quality and diversity of its other offerings. The university’s faculty, staff, and students also serve as resources to the area through activities related to professional, economic, and cultural growth and development.

Cultural Opportunities

UAB’s urban location offers students unique cultural opportunities. Located within walking distance of the campus is the Five Points South district, with several nationally recognized restaurants alongside shops, music clubs, and event spaces. Not far from campus are the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the historic Alabama Theatre and Lyric Theatre, and the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Sloss Furnaces, a post-Civil War iron foundry that has been converted into a museum and informal music hall, is nearby, and a short drive to the south is Oak Mountain Amphitheater, an outdoor facility that features music-industry headliners.

UAB also has a flourishing arts program. Dozens of major music events are produced each season at UAB, in addition to numerous theater productions and student and professional art exhibitions. The Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center is Birmingham’s home for the performing arts and the anchor of UAB's Cultural Arts Corridor. The Center features a concert hall, theater, and a recital hall, and regularly schedules nationally and internationally known artists and orchestras and features faculty and student productions and concerts. The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts houses the Department of Art and Art History and hosts rotating exhibitions that focus on artists of regional, national, and international significance, works from the permanent collection and student work as well as cultural events.

Student Life

UAB offers a rich variety of student life activities through its many academic organizations, honor clubs, fraternities and sororities, and volunteer groups. The university houses some 380 campus organizations, including numerous national honorary societies, professional clubs and interest groups, spirit teams, intramural and recreational sports, and an established student government organization.

The campus is rich in social activity and the arts and culture. The Campus Green is a vibrant hub of campus life, with serene outdoor spaces and state-of-the-art residence halls, dining facilities and academic buildings, along with the award-winning Campus Recreation Center. UAB's Hill Student Center is an architecturally striking facility that houses, among other amenities, a student welcome center, bookstore, and meeting, conference, and auditorium space. A few blocks away, the UAB Cultural Arts Corridor offers a host of free activities for students, including exhibitions, lectures and performances. 

UAB’s athletic program is a Division I member of the NCAA. In July 2023, UAB joined the American Athletic Conference. UAB athletes participate in 18 intercollegiate sports and have earned championships in football, baseball, volleyball, mixed rifle, men’s and women’s tennis, men's and women’s basketball, men's and women's soccer, and men’s golf.

The University of Alabama System

With nearly 70,000 students, The University of Alabama System is Alabama’s largest higher education enterprise, composed of three dynamic institutions striving to provide the people of Alabama with regionally and nationally prominent teaching, research, and service programs with a profound impact on our state.

The University of Alabama opened for admission of students on April 18, 1831, in Tuscaloosa. During the first half of the twentieth century and in addition to its regular educational programs at the Tuscaloosa campus, the university began to offer additional educational opportunities to residents in urban communities throughout Alabama. The Birmingham and Huntsville centers evolved into new university campuses. In September 1966, all university operations in Birmingham were designated as the University of Alabama in Birmingham by the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. This action established the University of Alabama in Birmingham as one of the three major campuses of the university. The University of Alabama in Huntsville had been initiated as a four-year school in 1964.

In June 1969, the campuses were given autonomy within the framework of the University of Alabama System, each having its own administrative structure with a president as the chief executive officer. A chancellor was appointed in June 1976 as chief administrative officer of the system. In 1984, the name of the University of Alabama in Birmingham was changed to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  

Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry, or Law

Students wishing to pursue careers in medicine, dentistry, optometry, or law complete a program of undergraduate study (usually culminating in a baccalaureate degree) before entering the appropriate professional school. “Pre-medicine,” “pre-dentistry,” “pre-optometry" and “pre-law” are not majors.

Individually Designed Majors

Students whose educational objectives are not well served by any of the regular majors may propose an individually designed major. Such program proposals require approval of the appropriate dean.

ROTC

UAB has Army and Air Force ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) units in which Birmingham-area college students may participate.

Cooperative Education Program

UAB’s Cooperative Education Program helps students identify work opportunities that combine practical experience with academic studies. Some academic departments give credit for carefully structured work experiences.