Explore UAB

did you know?

A selection of fun facts, surprising figures and other distinctions from across campus.

UAB worldwide US News rankings 1122

UAB was ranked among the top

8%

of universities worldwide in the U.S. News & World Report 2022-2023 "Best Global Universities" list.

22 programs in top 25, U.S. News “Best Graduate Schools” list 1123
22

programs in top 25, U.S. News & World Report 2024 "America's Best Graduate Schools" list.

Research awards FY2023

UAB received a record

$774.5M

in research grants and awards for FY2023. Over the past nine years, extramural sponsored funding at UAB has increased by 73%.

Tree Campus USA

UAB's campus is home to more than 4,400 trees, earning the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Campus USA designation for nine consecutive years.

Employees 1123

With more than 28,000 employees, UAB is Alabama's

largest

single-site, non-federal employer.

Sci Engineering Complex 1123

The first phase of UAB's Science-Engineering Complex opened in August 2023.

Best Hospitals US News
8

of UAB’s specialties ranked among the nation’s top 50 programs of their kind in the 2023-2024 Best Hospitals report from U.S. News & World Report.

Institute for Arts in Medicine 1123

UAB Arts in Medicine has served more than 200,000 patients, families and staff members at UAB and Children’s of Alabama and in the community since 2013.

HIIE Impact 1123
$6M+

licensing income in FY2023 from UAB research

2023 Enrollment

For the

6th

straight year, UAB enrollment surpassed 21,000.

Live HealthSmart Alabama 1123

Live HealthSmart Alabama, the winner of UAB's first Grand Challenge, has conducted 2,300+ comprehensive health screenings through its Mobile Wellness van (connecting 900+ people to primary care and preventive screenings) and served nearly 7,000 customers in 25 communities through its Mobile Market.

UABHS - RNICU

The UAB Women & Infants Center houses the only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Alabama.

$12.1 billion economic impact
$12.1B

UAB's annual economic impact.

Barefield gift

A transformative gift of $10 million from UAB alumnus J. Frank Barefield Jr. will name the J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Department of Criminal Justice in the College of Arts and Sciences and the UAB J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Entrepreneurship Program in the Collat School of Business.

Insight Into Diversity Oct 2022

UAB was recognized as a 

2022

Diversity Champion and Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award recipient by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

Conde Nast 2022 Birmingham

Conde Nast Traveler named Birmingham as one of its "Best Places to Go in 2022."

6 dual-degree programs
6

MBA dual-degree programs offered through the Collat School of Business and other schools on campus focused on medicine, engineering and public health, including DMD/MBA, MD/MBA, and OD/MBA programs.

TWG 2022

While UAB hosted The World Games from July 7-17, 2022, Campus Dining prepared 10,000 meals for up to 3,400 diners per day.

OCCC 50th anniversary

The O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB celebrated its

50th

anniversary in June 2022 and announced a five-year, $27.5 million renewal of its core National Cancer Institute grant the same month.

Xenotransplant

In a breakthrough study published in January 2022, UAB researchers proved that genetically modified pig kidneys can be transplanted into a human.

Heersink gift
$95M

Transformative gift, the largest in UAB history, established the UAB Heersink School of Medicine in 2021.

Forbes Ranking

Forbes named UAB its

#1

Best Large Employer for 2021.

Equal Access Birmingham

The Equal Access Birmingham Clinic, run by UAB Heersink School of Medicine students, sees hundreds of patients per year in a dedicated space just off campus.

UAB ranks 33rd in federal research funding, based on 2021 figures, which is

17th

among public universities. 

SOPH
Only

accredited school of public health in Alabama.

Forbes Diversity Ranking

UAB was named America's

No. 1

Best Employer for Diversity among colleges and universities by Forbes in 2021.

Protective Stadium 2022

Protective Stadium, a state-of-the-art, 45,000-seat venue in downtown Birmingham, is the new home of UAB Blazers Football. The stadium opened in 2021.

Dentistry CARES

The School of Dentistry averages

64,000

patient visits and 8,400 new patients served each year.

Highlands Geriatric ED

The emergency department at UAB Hospital-Highlands has been designated as a Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department, the only one in Alabama, the first in the Southeast and one of only 17 globally.

In 2021, Collat School of Business students saved local working families more than

$500,000

in commercial tax preparation fees by volunteering their time to prepare 1,325 tax returns for free. Their work secured more than $2.68 million in refunds for the families.

Infusion Therapy Clinic 0620

UAB's newly renovated, expanded Infusion Therapy Clinic is the largest and

only

magnet-designated infusion therapy center in the state.

UABHS - Every county

UAB Medicine provides care to people in every county in Alabama.

UAB Hospital

UAB Hospital is the

8th

largest hospital in the United States, according to the Beckers Hospital Review 2021 rankings.

UAB Hospital was granted recognition as a Magnet-designated organization, a prestigious symbol of nursing excellence, for an unprecedented 5th consecutive time in 2019, becoming only the

21st

hospital worldwide to achieve this distinction.

Green Hall 1120

McMahon Hall, which opened in spring 2021, houses more than 730 students and includes a dining hall seating roughly 170 students.

New Honors House

Honors Hall, which opened in August 2020, is one of the latest campus buildings to be LEED certified for its energy- and water-saving design.

Times Higher Ed

UAB ranked 

#1

in the U.S., and in the top 12 worldwide, in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2019 Young University Rankings.

Times Higher Ed well being 2020

UAB ranked

7th

in the world by Times Higher Education in 2020 for research and education efforts around health and well-being.

UAB 50th

UAB celebrated its 

50th

anniversary in 2019.

UAB's Master of Science in Health Administration program is ranked

#1

in the country in the 2020 U.S. News Best Graduate School Rankings.

UAB Libraries investment 0620
$2.2M

investment in UAB Libraries has made them model 21st century learning spaces.

Technology Innovation Center 1021

The Technology Innovation Center, a new home for UAB's Cheaha supercomputer and IT services, opened in September 2021.

CCC research ROI
14:1

Return on investment from research in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. With base funding of $10 million, Cancer Center investigators receive $140 million in grants and contracts.

Dental network

The UAB School of Dentistry is transforming oral health nationwide through its leadership of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.

Space freezers + icon

Special freezers developed by UAB engineers are in orbit aboard the International Space Station.

Udall Centers

In 2019, UAB was selected as one of 

8

national Udall Centers of Excellence in Parkinson's disease.

Mars

A ridge on Mars is named for UAB physicist Thomas Wdowiak, Ph.D., who played an important role in NASA's missions to the Red Planet.

CFAR

UAB is one of

7

inaugural NIH-designated Centers for AIDS Research.

APLU designation

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities has designated UAB as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University, among 65 higher education institutions nationwide to receive this prestigious honor. 

Gospel Choir

The UAB Gospel Choir, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015, has performed sold-out concerts around the world.

UAB is home to one of

9

World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization collaborating centers in the United States focused on nursing and midwifery.

NMT and Health Physics

UAB offers the 

only

Health Physics and Nuclear Medicine Technology programs in Alabama.

Student Center

The $48.5-million Hill Student Center includes a 276-seat theater, multiple dining options and more in 160,000+ square feet of space.

The Mock Trial, Ethics Bowl and Bioethics Bowl teams in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences have all won

national

championships.

Green and Gold Fund

The student-led Green and Gold Fund manages more than $500,000 in assets.

UAB Kidney Chain 1120

An ongoing living donor kidney transplant chain at UAB is the world's longest. The chain of surgeries has given more than 

110

people so far the gift of life.

WBHM
90,000

listeners in North Central Alabama tune in weekly to NPR affiliate WBHM on UAB's campus. The station celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2016; it went on the air on Dec. 5, 1976.

Nightingale
58

original letters from Florence Nightingale are on display at the UAB School of Nursing.

Campaign Billion

The Campaign for UAB surpassed $1 billion raised in November 2018. 

The employee-led UAB Benevolent Fund works with more than

140

local nonprofit organizations.

In the decade from 2003-2013, UAB's Health Administration program was one of the nation's leaders in the number of black doctoral recipients graduated, according to a 2017 study.

Henry Peters

Henry Peters, founding dean of the UAB School of Optometry, is the first optometrist to be inducted into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame.

Level 1 Trauma Center
Only

Level 1 adult trauma center in Alabama (as designated by the American College of Surgeons).

CCT

UAB's Critical Care Transport team has transported more than

50,000

patients.

PATH Clinic

The School of Nursing's Providing Access to Health Care (PATH) Clinic cares for uninsured and underinsured patients, improving patient outcomes, decreasing hospital admissions and significantly reducing hospital costs.

UAB has one of only two Level 1 ocular trauma centers in the United States.

UABHS - Callahan

UAB Callahan Eye Hospital is the only specialty hospital in Alabama focusing on eye care.

CORD
70,000

Alabama students, from kindergarten to community colleges, reached annually by programs from the UAB Center for Community OutReach Development.

6

UAB faculty members have been presidents of the American Heart Association.

Millions of gallons of water per year are saved through UAB Sustainability efforts.