KeyFacts
The University of Alabama had five students named to the USA Today Academic All-USA Team for 2003—the most awards of any school in the nation. Harvard and Johns Hopkins each had three recipients of the award, and UA had more than Dartmouth and Yale combined. UA's Sarah Adair, a microbiology major from Hartselle, was named to the first team. UA's Kana Ellis, Allison Kellogg, Gabriel Walvatne, and Laura Medders were also among the honorees. USA Today selects the All-USA Academic Team from students throughout the country. They are recognized for grades, awards, leadership roles, and ability to use their academic skills outside the classroom.
The University of Alabama is ranked among the nation's top 50 public universities in U.S. News & World Report's 2002 edition.
The University of Alabama's graduates include 15 Rhodes Scholars, 15 Goldwater Scholars, and nine Truman Scholars. Our most recent Rhodes Scholar is Bradley Tuggle, an English major who received the award in 2001.
The University of Alabama's chapter of the prestigious liberal arts honor society Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest of the three chapters in the state.
Approximately 66 percent of UA's undergraduates receive some type of financial aid.
UA ranks as one of the top public universities in enrollment of National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholars. More than 300 of these students are currently enrolled at Alabama.
For over a decade, The University of Alabama has been one of the top public flagship universities in the Southeast in enrollment of African-American students. In fall 2002, African-Americans comprised 10 percent of enrolled freshmen, 14 percent of total undergraduate enrollment, and 13 percent of the student body overall. Enrollment of African-American students in UA's Graduate School has increased by 44 percent since 1996.
U.S. News & World Report has ranked the University of Alabama School of Law among the top 50 in the nation for four consecutive years while our undergraduate business program has made the top 50 nationally for three years.
Across our beautiful 1,000-acre campus, several buildings dating back to the founding of the university are still in use today—alongside other historic structures and recent construction housing state-of-the-art technology. We offer excellent facilities for study and research, including campus-wide computer labs, multimedia classrooms, and online libraries.
More than 25 percent of the university's entering freshmen and 19 percent of all undergraduates received merit scholarships for the academic year 2001-02.
The University of Alabama debate team holds 14 national championships—two more than our football team!
UA offers 220 degree programs.
Founded in 1831, The University of Alabama was the state's first university.
UA Students Win Awards at Regional Conference
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—Several University of Alabama College of Engineering students recently won awards at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Regional Student Conference in Miami.
The UA student chapter of ASME received the award for Outstanding Student Section by earning a perfect baseline score in the Ingersoll-Rand Competition for reporting the year's activities, the first Southeastern school to do so. They also received the award for having the most students in attendance.
Heather Hendrix, a Dothan native and senior majoring in mechanical engineering, received third place for her poster titled "LED Warning Signals: Field Testing for Railroad Applications."
Destin Sandlin, a Priceville resident and senior majoring in mechanical engineering, received the award for best technical presentation in his division for "Threaded Assembly in Microgravity."
Thomas Saunders Jr., an Alexander City native and junior majoring in mechanical engineering, received second place for his poster titled "Boring Bar Design."
Founded in 1880, ASME International is a nonprofit educational and technical organization with 125,000 members.
In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 1,900 students and more than 90 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.
