The United Methodist Church established Birmingham-Southern College in 1856. With an enrollment of around 1,400 undergraduate and graduate students, the college received the 93rd-place ranking among all liberal arts colleges in the United States from the "Best Colleges 2011" ratings published by "U.S. News and World Report." The college features a student to faculty ratio of only 12 to 1, allowing for small class sizes. The school grants Bachelor of Arts, Science, Fine Arts, and Music Education degrees as well as Master of Arts in Public and Private Management and Master of Music degrees. The college holds weekly worship services in its on-campus chapel and offers students the opportunity to participate in religious organizations and missions work.
Birmingham-Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Road
Birmingham, AL 35254
205-226-4696
bsc.edu
Affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention, Samford University is a private institution with more than 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students. The college received the 104th-place ranking among all universities in the United States in the "Best Colleges 2011" ratings from "U.S. News and World Report." The school does not allow graduate students to teach courses, meaning that every class is conducted by a faculty member. The university consists of the colleges of fine arts, arts and science, business, divinity, education, law, nursing and pharmacy. Altogether, the university has 138 undergraduate majors. Undergraduate students are encouraged to conduct independent research and study. The school affords students the opportunity to participate in international missions trips and study abroad placements.
Samford University
800 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, AL 35229
800-888-7218
samford.edu
A public institution, the University of Alabama, Birmingham opened in 1969 and has a combined enrollment of more than 16,800 undergraduate and graduate students. In the "U.S. News and World Report" "Best Colleges 2011" ratings, the college ranked 151st among all universities in the United States. The school boasts the only bioengineering and nursing doctorate program in the state of Alabama and is also home to one of the only four forensic accounting and information technology degree programs in the United States, according to the university's website. The schools that make up the university are: arts and sciences, business, dentistry, education, engineering, health profession, medicine, nursing, optometry and public health.
University of Alabama, Birmingham
1530 Third Ave. South
Birmingham, AL 35294
205-934-8221
uab.edu