Fall 2021 UA Records
- 47 newly set or tied enrollment records for Fall 2021, including:
- At 38,320 students, UA enrolled the largest freshmen class in history in fall 2021 with 7,593 freshmen. It is the third year out of the last four years with a fall enrollment of more than 38,000 students
- The freshman class includes 281 National Merit Scholars, bringing the total number of currently enrolled National Merit Scholars to 940. Both fall 2021 numbers are the highest in UA history.
- The second year retention rate of the Fall 2020 cohort was 6%, a new UA record.
- The six-year graduation rate of the Fall 2015 cohort was a record 2%.
- Graduate School enrollment of 6,152 is a 7% increase from fall 2020 and breaks last year’s record enrollment number.
- The enrollment of freshmen from Alabama rose more than 8%with 2,963 in-state students, the most freshmen from Alabama in a decade.
Academic Success
- The Carnegie Foundation lists The University of Alabama among the top doctoral research universities in the United States. UA is included among R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity status in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
- At 38,320 students, UA enrolled the largest freshmen class in history in fall 2021 with 7,593 freshmen. It is the third year out of the last four years with a fall enrollment of more than 38,000 students.
- Graduate School enrollmentof 6,152 is a 7% increase from fall 2020 and breaks last year’s record enrollment number.
- The freshman class includes 281 National Merit Scholars, bringing the total number of currently enrolled National Merit Scholars to 940. Both fall 2021 numbers are the highest in UA history.
- The number of freshmen enrolledin the UA Honors College jumped more than 14% with 2,053 honors students.
- The enrollment of freshmen from Alabama rose more than 8%with 2,963 in-state students, the most freshmen from Alabama in a decade
- Fifty-nine students have been named Goldwater Scholars, including two in 2021. UA has produced a total of 15 Rhodes Scholars, 16 Truman Scholars, 36 Hollings Scholars and 16 Boren Scholars. Five UA students won Fulbright awards for 2021-2022. In February 2021, UA was recognized as a Top Producing Institution for Fulbright U.S. Students for the fifth time in six years.
- Thirty-six current UA faculty have received NSF CAREER Awards, the nation’s most prestigious recognition of top-performing young scientists, in disciplines ranging from nanoscience and engineering to biological sciences. 52 UA faculty researchers are in the National Academy of Inventors.
University Rankings & Impact
- UA launched The Rising Tide Capital Campaign, the largest fundraising campaign in state historyto raise a minimum of $1.5 billion in private donations to support all areas of campus — from student scholarships and faculty research to campus facilities and athletics.
- UA made Forbes’list of the Best Employers for New Graduates 2021
- Total statewide economic impact of UA: $2.973 billion; 13,823 jobs; and $146.5 million in income and sales taxes, according to 2018-19 Economic Impacts of UA.
- UA’s Advertising and Public Relations Program was named a top-five finalist for Outstanding Education Program during the PRWeek Awards — the tenth time the program has been awarded the honor.
- The Capstone College of Nursing’s online master’s in nursing program ranks 13 among public universities and No. 17 overall by U.S. News and World Report. The college also made The Princeton Review’s 2021 Top Online Nursing Programs list.
- The Culverhouse College of Business ranks 28 among public business schoolsand No. 44 overall by U.S. News and World Report.
- UA’s School of Lawranks 25 overall and No. 9 among public universities on U.S. News and World Report’s list of 2022 Best Law Schools.
- The Manderson Graduate School is ranked 44 on the list ofbest business graduate schools and No. 22 among public institutions by U.S. News and World Report.
Facility Excellence and Expansion
- UA’s Culverhouse College of Business officially opened Hewson Hall, a light-filled, dynamic 108,000 square-foot structure designed to connect Culverhouse faculty, staff and students through 31 collaboration rooms, 22 high-tech classrooms, three conference rooms, an executive boardroom and a multitude of meeting and flex spaces.
- The 2ndAvenue Overpass, connecting 15th Street to Paul W. Bryant Drive near the east side of Coleman Coliseum, opened to the public.
- The Board of Trustees approved the creation of the Global Water Security Center. The center’s mission is to provide decision makers with reliable information, groundbreaking research, applied scientific techniques and best practices so the impacts of the cycle of water distribution and management can be better understood, leading to appropriate action and response.
- UA’s Capstone College of Nursing opened a new wing in January 2021 that will allow growth of its nursing program by expanding student learning and collaboration space and equipping faculty with the square footage needed to conduct research, prepare lectures and meet one-on-one with students.
- UA hosted the 2021 Toyota NWBA Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball National Championships March 12-13 at Stran-Hardin Arena. The Alabama women’s wheelchair basketball team won the program’s seventh national championship during the event.
Research Excellence
- UA received a $1 million grantfrom the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to assist with COVID-19 vaccine information and outreach programs and support remote and pop-up vaccination clinics throughout the state’s Black Belt.
- UA will strengthen its long-standing relationship with Alabama Power Company and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International with the Alabama Mobility and Power (AMP) Initiative, designed to meet the needs of the booming electric vehicle market and support Alabama’s transportation network.
- UA researchers are working to develop advanced computational earth science and coastal modelsthat help coastal communities prepare for flooding from tropical storms and hurricanes through a $2.84 million grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Research and Development Center.
- UA is leading a 4-year, $6 million projectto conduct groundwater research. The data and modeling tools developed will provide new scientific insights and make useful groundwater predictions for the Southeast.
- UA is partnering with the leading provider of compliance and investigation softwareof cryptocurrency transactions to provide cutting-edge education and training for students.
Student Success
- UA’s Astrobotics team won first place in NASA’s Robotic Mining Competition for the seventh time in nine years.
- UA’s student team won first place for year three of the four-year EcoCAR Mobility Challenge.
- UA’s Dance Marathon raised $303,126over the past year for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital at Children’s of Alabama. The student-led organization announced its fundraising total during BAMAthon Feb. 27.
- The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program selected three UA students as Goldwater Scholars for 2021-22; and, one UA senior was among 46 Americans selected to study in the United Kingdom through the prestigious Marshall Scholarship.
- The Alabama Forensics Council, UA’s competitive speech team, won two national championships in speech and debate during the virtual Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament.
- UA’s Capstone Agency was awarded Best Student-Run Firm by the Public Relations Student Society of America for the third time.
- The Million Dollar Band will perform in the 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The appearance will be the first by the band in the parade.
- UA finished the 2020 Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger food drive by collecting 291,047 pounds of food, winning the food drive for the fourth year in a row.
Diversity Success
- UA, received funding through the 100K Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund competition to solve global water issues while working in diverse teams to develop resources to improve access to safe water and sanitation through the comparative study of ecosystems in Alabama’s Black Belt and Colombia’s Cienaga de Mallorquín region.
- UA Assistant Professor of Higher Education Krystal Williams was chosen by “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education” magazine as one of the nation’s top 15 emerging scholars under the age of 40.
- UA and Protective Life Corporation have launched the Diversity in Business Bridge Program in the Culverhouse College of Business to help underrepresented students get a head start on finding their potential path to a business college experience.
- The UA President’s Advisory Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion released its comprehensive report in November 2020, which includes strategies for ongoing coordination and expansion of UA’s DEI efforts.