Recent U.S. News and World Report rankings shed light on how Alabama colleges and universities stack up.
Rankings were based on factors including graduation and retention, social mobility, graduation rate performance, undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources per student, average alumni giving rate and graduate indebtedness.
Coming in at the top Alabama school in the National Universities category is Auburn University at 97th. Fall 2021 undergraduate enrollment was 24,931, according to U.S. News. In-state tuition and fees are $11,826 and out-of-state tuition and fees are $31,986. It also ranked 61st in the Best Colleges for Veterans category.
According to U.S. News, universities in the National Universities category offer a full range of undergraduate majors plus master’s and doctoral programs as well as show a commitment to producing “groundbreaking research.” U.S. News calculated 10 distinct overall ranking categories where colleges and universities were grouped by their academic missions.
Following Auburn in the National Universities category is Samford University at 127th. The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham tied at 137th. Those universities had fall 2021 undergraduate enrollment rates of 3,607, 31,685 and 13,547, respectively.
Next in the National Universities category is the University of Alabama at Huntsville at 263rd. Alabama State University and the University of South Alabama both ranked in the 331st-440th range. These schools had fall 2021 undergraduate rates of 7,569, 3,499 and 8,833, respectively.
When it comes to the National Liberal Arts Colleges category, first in the state is Birmingham-Southern College at 111th and a fall 2021 undergraduate enrollment of 1,058. Its tuition and fees are $21,250. It also ranked 193rd in the Top Performers on Social Mobility category.
According to U.S. News, colleges in the National Liberal Arts Colleges category emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of study.
Following BSC in this category is Oakwood University in the 156th-201st range.
The next category, Regional Universities South, ranked universities that offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s programs but few doctoral programs. Regional rankings were split into four regions: North, South, Midwest and West, with Alabama falling in the South category.
Alabama schools in the Regional Universities South category ranked as follows:
The Regional Colleges South category ranked colleges focused on undergraduate education but granting fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.
Alabama schools in this category ranked as follows:
According to U.S. News, only academic data from its surveys and reliable third-party sources were used to calculate each ranking factor. Nonacademic elements like social life and athletics were not factored into the rankings.
For each ranking, the sum of weighted, normalized values across 17 indicators of academic quality determined each school’s overall score and, by extension, its overall rank. Those placing outside the top 75% display their ranking’s bottom quartile range instead of their individual ranks.
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