9 Top Alabama Colleges and Universities

Alabama has a wide range of options for both public and private institutions. From a large public university like the University of Alabama to small Huntingdon College, Alabama has schools to match a wide range of student personalities and interests. The 9 top Alabama colleges listed below represent such diverse school types and missions that I have simply listed them alphabetically rather than force them into any sort of artificial ranking -- it makes little sense to try and compare a large public university to a small private Christian college. The schools were chosen based on factors such as academic reputation, curricular innovations, first-year retention rates, six-year graduation rates, selectivity, financial aid and student engagement.

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Auburn University

Location: Auburn, Alabama
Enrollment: 28,290 (22,658 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: public university
Distinctions: over 140 degree programs; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; over 300 student clubs and organizations; strong Division I athletic programs within the Southeastern Conference
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Auburn University profile

Birmingham-Southern College

Birmingham Southern College. goforchris / Flickr

Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Enrollment: 1,293 (all undergraduate)
Type of Institution: private Methodist liberal arts college
Distinctions: good financial aid; strong student-faculty interaction; featured in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; good financial aid; 13 to 1 student / faculty ratio
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Birmingham-Southern College profile

Huntingdon College

Huntingdon College. Spyder Monkey / Wikimedia Commons

Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Enrollment: 1,148 (all undergraduate)
Type of Institution: private Methodist college
Distinctions: 14 to 1 student / faculty ratio; average class size of 20; popular programs in business; most students receive grant aid; level tuition payments for four years
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Huntingdon College profile

Samford University

Samford University. Sweetmoose6 / Wikimedia Commons

Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Enrollment: 5,471 (3,341 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: private Christian university
Distinctions: largest private university in Alabama; 138 undergraduate majors; 12 to 1 student / faculty ratio; no classes are taught by graduate students; good value; member of the NCAA Division I Southern Conference
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Samford University profile

Spring Hill College

Spring Hill College. Altairisfar / Wikimedia Commons

Location: Mobile, Alabama
Enrollment: 1,476 (1,381 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: private Catholic college
Distinctions: 14 to 1 student / faculty ratio; average class size of 18; attractive 381-acre campus; good value; most students receive grant aid; popular programs in business and nursing; founded in 1830 (oldest Catholic college in the Southeast)
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the Spring Hill College profile

University of Alabama in Huntsville

University of Alabama in Huntsville Shelby Center for Science and Technology. Anivron / Wikimedia Commons

Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Enrollment: 8,468 (6,507 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: public university
Distinctions: 16 to 1 student / faculty ratio; popular programs in business, nursing and engineering; strong research initiatives including partnerships with NASA, the U.S. Army, Pratt & Whitney, and others; NCAA Division II Athletics (Division I Hockey)
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the University of Alabama in Huntsville profile

University of Alabama Main Campus

University of Alabama. maggiejp / Flickr

Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Enrollment: 37,663 (32,563 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: public university
Distinctions: Alabama's flagship institution of higher learning; highly ranked public university; good value; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; strong athletic programs in the NCAA Division I Southeastern Conference
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the University of Alabama profile

University of Mobile

University of Mobile. MattTheCat / Wikimedia Commons

Location: Mobile, Alabama
Enrollment: 1,480 (1,376 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: private Christian university
Distinctions: 13 to 1 student / faculty ratio; 800-acre campus; good value; broad academic offerings for a small college; popular programs in nursing, business and education
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the University of Mobile profile

University of Montevallo

University of Montevallo Reynolds Hall. Courtesy of Matt Orton

Location: Montevallo, Alabama
Enrollment: 2,798 (2,409 undergraduates)
Type of Institution: public liberal arts college
Distinctions: good value; attractive 160-acre campus; center of campus is a National Historic District; 75 majors to choose from; 16 to 1 student / faculty ratio
For acceptance rate, test scores, costs and other information, visit the University of Montevallo profile

Explore Great Colleges in the South

South Central Region.

If you're interest in attending a college in the South, check out these other great schools: