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The University of Alabama at Birmingham (also known as UAB) is a public, coeducational university located in Birmingham, Alabama. The university is part of the three-member University of Alabama System, which also includes the main University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). UAB currently has an enrollment of approximately 16,000 students. The school's president is Carol Garrison.

The history of UAB began with the relocation of the University of Alabama School of Medicine from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham in 1945. Because of the rapid growth of the Birmingham area, it was deemed necessary that an extension program for students who had difficulties which prevented them from studying in Tuscaloosa was needed. UAB became an autonomous campus in 1969.

UAB offers programs of study leading to bachelor's, master's, doctoral and professional degrees in various fields, including social and behavioral sciences, liberal arts, business, education, engineering, health-related fields (such as medicine, dentistry and nursing) and public health. The school is highly renowned for its medical research and natural sciences programs. UAB received over $390 million in federal grants during the past fiscal year for research purposes. This places the school as one of the larger research institutions in the Southeast. In fact, UAB is currently 3rd in the Southeast for NIH research funding behind only Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. UAB Hospital also sponsors residency programs in various medical specialties, including internal medicine, surgery, radiology, and anesthesiology.

Accolades

  • The schools of Nursing and Medicine at UAB are among the nation’s best, according to the 2005-2006 U.S. News & World Report ranking of graduate schools. The School of Nursing is ranked 19th. The School of Medicine is ranked 23rd, two spots higher than the previous year's ranking. Five medical specialties at UAB are ranked in the top 20 nationally by the magazine: AIDS, 4th (up one ranking); women’s health, 8th; internal medicine 18th (up one ranking); geriatrics, 19th; and pediatrics, 19th. The school’s primary care program was ranked 34th, up four spots.

  • The School of Health Professions #1 in the nation in research funding from the National Institutes of Health and holds the record for 26 consecutive years in either first or second place.

  • The highest ranked academic program at UAB is the Master of Science in Health Administration (MSHA) program. It has been ranked in the top 10 programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since the early 1990's. The master’s program in physical therapy is also in the School of Health Professions and is ranked 25th.

  • The School of Engineering’s biomedical engineering program is ranked 40th. Doctoral programs in the biological sciences are in the top 50.

  • The UAB Mock Trial team is consistently among the nation's best as a perennial Top 25 program. The program has enjoyed so much success that, in 2006, it won the national title in the Silver Division.

  • UAB also has its own police department of state certified peace officers. The department has reached CALEA standards and has a Special Operations unit (bicycle patrol, mounted patrol, etc.) as well as over 75 sworn officers and detectives.

Accolades of the UAB School of Business

  • The UAB School of Business is 7th in rankings of metro, state business schools by US News and World Report, 2004.

  • Accreditation by AACSB International was achieved in 1973 in a record time of just two years, never accomplished before or since by any business school in the world.

  • The accounting program at UAB was among the first 17 in the nation to receive separate accreditation by the AACSB in 1982.

  • UAB graduates achieve first-time pass rates on the CPA exam that are 30% higher than the national average.

  • During the past six years, a UAB graduate has achieved the highest score in Alabama on the CPA Exam 5 times. (Comparatively, no other university/college in the state has had more than 2 graduates achieve the highest score in the last six years.)

  • UAB School of Business finance graduates pass the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam at a rate 20% higher than the national average.

  • The Industrial Distribution Program is the only fully integrated business-engineering ID program in the U.S. and one of only two programs residing in accredited schools of business and engineering within a 17-state area from Virginia to New Mexico.

Athletics

UAB's forest green-and- old gold-swathed athletic teams are nicknamed the Blazers. UAB is a member of Conference USA and participates in Division I-A of the NCAA. Watson Brown coaches the football team, which plays at 71,594-seat Legion Field. The school's men's basketball team, coached by Mike Davis, plays in 8,500-seat Bartow Arena. While the football team entered post-season play only recently (2004 Hawaii Bowl), the men's basketball program has a long history of success. Since their inaugural season (1978-79), the Blazers have made 13 appearances in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and have had 25 winning seasons. In 2004, the school gained national attention when it upset the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round of the tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Most of UAB men's basketball and football games can be heard live on Birmingham's WYDE (101.1 FM). In addition to football and basketball, UAB also has programs in mens' sports for baseball, golf, soccer, and tennis. Women's sports programs include softball, basketball, golf, soccer, synchronized swimming, tennis, track and field, rifle and volleyball.

The UAB mascot is a green dragon named "Blaze." Former mascots included a strange cartoonish nordic warrior and perhaps the most beloved Beauregard T. Rooster that met an untimely demise when threatened with legal action by the San Diego Chicken.

Greek Life

Sororities

Related links

External links

University of Alabama at Birmingham | Birmingham, Alabama | Conference USA | Sea-grant universities | Schools of Medicine in the United States

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "University of Alabama at Birmingham".

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