The University of Alabama

What is the history of The University of Alabama?

The University of Alabama is a public university in Tuscaloosa that opened in 1831, after the state authorized its creation in 1820. Its early purpose was to provide higher education for Alabama, and it has since developed into a university offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees.

The campus was largely destroyed near the end of the Civil War and subsequently rebuilt. Women began enrolling in the 1890s. In 1963, Vivian Malone and James Hood registered after the federal government intervened to enforce their admission, a defining event in the university's desegregation. Today, students encounter both that history and the institution's later expansion in research, professional education, and statewide service.

What are the faculties and departments at The University of Alabama?

The University of Alabama organizes its academic programs across colleges and schools rather than a single undergraduate faculty. Its units include Arts and Sciences; the Culverhouse College of Business; Communication and Information Sciences; Community Health Sciences; Education; Engineering; Human Environmental Sciences; Nursing; and Social Work. The university also has an Honors College, a Graduate School, and a School of Law.

That structure gives applicants a broad choice of fields, from English and biology to accounting, journalism, mechanical engineering, nursing, and social work. Students can pursue bachelor's degrees as well as graduate and professional credentials, depending on the program. Some fields have separate admission, progression, clinical-placement, or accreditation requirements; admission to the university does not necessarily mean immediate admission to every major. The academic catalog is the appropriate place to check a program's current curriculum and prerequisites.

What is the location of The University of Alabama?

The University of Alabama's main campus is in Tuscaloosa, a city in west-central Alabama. It is a substantial campus close to downtown Tuscaloosa and the neighboring city of Northport, rather than a commuter-only site.

Students who live off campus should account for travel time, parking rules, and campus transportation when comparing housing options. Tuscaloosa has road connections to Birmingham, where Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport provides a regional air-travel option. The airport is not within walking distance of campus, so students traveling without a car need to arrange ground transportation. Applicants should also distinguish this Tuscaloosa institution from other universities in the University of Alabama System.

What is the mission and vision of The University of Alabama?

The University of Alabama describes its mission in terms of teaching, research, and service. Its stated priorities include educating students, producing scholarship and creative work, and applying university expertise to needs in Alabama and beyond.

Those aims reflect its role as a public research university: undergraduate education sits alongside graduate study, faculty research, and outreach. They are institutional goals, not a measure of any individual student's experience. The university is a public institution, not a religiously affiliated college; students evaluating its educational approach can look at the requirements and resources of their intended college or major as well as the university-wide mission.