College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Alabama at Birmingham

ALLarge public institution · Overall rank #265 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places University of Alabama at Birmingham in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham, Alabama, where Health Professions, Business, and Biological Sciences dominate the degree mix, and mobility is well above average. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, yet the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools, so the raw and adjusted pictures diverge.

The model attributes that gain to the factors it measures, which adds to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them. Families at the bottom of the income scale pay less than the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it.

Pell students finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and access is well above average. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and the program mix is weighted toward Health Professions and Biological Sciences rather than engineering and technology.

A student drawn to Nursing should know that the largest programs are not the best-paid ones.

University of Alabama at Birmingham at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
88.2%
Six-year completion[2]
64.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$64,969

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,161
Median student debt[4]
$22,300
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$20,498

University of Alabama at Birmingham rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham, Alabama, enrolling 11,635 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it lands in the top fifth of the Azimuth ranking (82nd percentile).

At University of Alabama at Birmingham, applicants are admitted at a rate of 88.2%, above the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among first-time full-time students, 80.1% continue after the first year, against a peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate, which counts only first-time full-time students, is 64.2%, against 65.0% for peers. An estimated 36.0% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Mobility is the strongest of the four (83rd percentile), and affordability is the weakest (62nd percentile). Access and return sit between them (77th and 69th percentiles), so the four pillars are spread across a moderate range, with mobility and access sitting above return and affordability.

Mobility is the leading part of the Azimuth profile, while affordability is its lowest pillar. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, mobility is in the 83rd percentile and access is in the 77th percentile.

Azimuth places return in the 69th percentile and affordability in the 62nd percentile.

34.0% of undergraduates at University of Alabama at Birmingham receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at 52.8%, 11.4 percentage points below the rate for the cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks the university #345 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The mobility pillar is the strongest of the four for this university, and Azimuth ranks it #244 for mobility. Graduates earn about $7,003 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

University of Alabama at Birmingham rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#265

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 83
Access & reach
National percentile: 77
Affordability
National percentile: 62
Return on investment
National percentile: 69

Top-ranked majors

  1. Management Information Systems and Services#51
  2. Health and Medical Administrative Services#52
  3. Human Resources Management and Services#61

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / University of Alabama at Birmingham briefing

University of Alabama at Birmingham cost & financial aid[6][7]

At University of Alabama at Birmingham, aid softens the published sticker cost, but the average net price remains above that of comparable institutions. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $11,640 and required fees of $500 for the 2025-26 academic year.

It reported out-of-state tuition of $28,980 and on-campus food and housing sticker charges of $13,240. The published cost of attendance is $28,145.

The , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $18,749, with aid offsetting $9,396 against the sticker price on average. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $15,634; the university's figure is $3,115 above it.

Azimuth ranks University of Alabama at Birmingham #538 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid narrows the published price, yet the net-price comparison remains less favorable than for peers.

Costs vary across income bands at University of Alabama at Birmingham, where the published cost of attendance is $28,145. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,172 for the lowest family-income band, $15,500 for the lower-middle band, and $19,161 for the middle band.

The average net price is $21,805 for the upper-middle family-income band and $22,597 for the highest band; the spread between the lowest and highest bands is $6,425. Azimuth ranks the university #538 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid reduces the published price for the average recipient, though the overall net price remains above the comparable-peer figure. Financial aid offsets $9,396, and aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $18,749. That is $3,115 above the peer median net price of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size), so the aid offset and peer comparison point in different directions.

Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $22,300, and 85.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. This median stands $2,224 above the peer median debt of $20,076 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $20,498. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,161

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Alabama at Birmingham

85.7% of federal aid recipients at University of Alabama at Birmingham take federal loans, and borrowers who complete leave with median federal student loan debt of $22,300. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, and the university's median is $2,224 above that figure.

Parent PLUS debt for the separate parent-borrower population has a median of $20,498. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 50% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $26,074 per borrower.

48% of graduates had federal loans averaging $21,383. Private loans, averaging $30,186, were held by 9% of graduates, including some who also borrowed federally.

At University of Alabama at Birmingham, earnings and borrowing point in different directions for the investment picture. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $64,969 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sit in the 77th percentile.

Graduates earn about $7,003 more than the model expects for similar students. Modeled from the program mix, the downside scenario is $44,683 and the upside scenario is $82,466, with the typical scenario matching the median earnings figure.

Median federal debt is $22,300, $2,224 above the $20,076 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

Above-expected earnings and above-peer debt pull the investment picture in different directions.

Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $20,498, separate from student federal debt. For borrowers with median federal student debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$22,300
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$20,498

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$253/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$260/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / University of Alabama at Birmingham briefing

University of Alabama at Birmingham career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

University of Alabama at Birmingham shows above-expected earnings, though its median trails comparable institutions. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $7,003 more than the model expects for similar students. The result, earnings beyond expectations—the gap between what graduates earn and the model expects for similar students—is in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,721. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,718.

Federally aided completers working and not enrolled earn a median of $64,969 four years after completion, in the 66th percentile. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610; University of Alabama at Birmingham is $641 below it.

A four-year median of $64,969 gives University of Alabama at Birmingham graduates a clear earnings benchmark. That figure covers federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

Azimuth places the earnings measure in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on 3,428 completers. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offers another view.

Graduates earn about $7,003 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix place typical earnings at $64,969, with a downside scenario of $44,683 and an upside scenario of $82,466.

An estimated 33.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The median and above-expected result point in the same direction, while the modeled range keeps program choice central.

Federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $64,969 four years after completing a degree, placing the figure at the 66th percentile. That median is $641 below the $65,610 median posted by comparable institutions (same type and size) nationally.

For return, Azimuth ranks University of Alabama at Birmingham #451 among nonprofit four-year institutions nationally. Graduates of University of Alabama at Birmingham earn about $7,003 more than the model expects for similar students overall.

That outcome places the earnings beyond expectations gap at the 77th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,721.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain on its own subtracts $4,718. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,681.

Degrees awarded cluster in health professions, business and the biological sciences, while engineering and computer science fields are also well represented. Earnings scenarios estimated from that program mix range from $44,683 on the downside to $82,466 on the upside.

An estimated 33.1% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the overall degree program mix.

The range across modeled program-mix scenarios is wide, so the school-level median does not describe every field equally. The downside earnings scenario is $44,683, and the upside scenario is $82,466; neither is an observed graduate group.

At University of Alabama at Birmingham, borrower debt sits above the comparable-school midpoint, which tempers the earnings picture. Borrowers who completed have median federal student loan debt of $22,300.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $20,076, and the university's figure is above it by $2,224. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $18,749, which is above the $15,634 peer median by $3,115. Across the five income bands from lowest to highest, average net prices are $16,172, $15,500, $19,161, $21,805, and $22,597.

Graduates earn about $7,003 more than the model expects for similar students. Above-expected earnings pull in a favorable direction, while higher debt and net price than comparable institutions pull the cost picture the other way.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$11,721
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$4,718
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$7,003

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / University of Alabama at Birmingham briefing

University of Alabama at Birmingham acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, University of Alabama at Birmingham reported 11,355 first-year applicants and 10,013 admitted applicants, a recent admissions-cycle count in which most applicants were admitted. The federal admission rate is 88.2%, meaning that share of the reported applicant pool received admission.

It is higher than the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
88.2%
25th percentile
1190
Median
1340
75th percentile
1430

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Alabama at Birmingham briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Alabama at Birmingham?[12]

At University of Alabama at Birmingham, program-level earnings differ across some of its largest fields, so the schoolwide figure does not describe every route. Nursing had median earnings of $78,224 four years after completion and 362 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #214 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Health and Medical Administrative Services had median earnings of $53,021 four years after completion and 137 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #52 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Human Resources Management and Services recorded $61,781 and 27 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #61 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. The higher figure sits alongside more moderate earnings in the other fields.

Health Professions accounts for 21.9% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and University of Alabama at Birmingham has 28 ranked fields. Among them, Management Information Systems and Services stands out for its national placement.

Azimuth places it at #51 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; it awarded 66 degrees, and completers’ median earnings were $79,843 four years after completion. Health and Medical Administrative Services is ranked #52 by Azimuth nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Human Resources Management and Services holds Azimuth’s #61 national rank among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. It awarded 27 degrees.

Azimuth ranks Subject-Area Teacher Education #62 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; 122 degrees were awarded, with median earnings of $52,435 four years after completion. These fields pair national standing with earnings that vary by program.

University of Alabama at Birmingham awards bachelor's degrees across 28 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 34 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is anchored by Health Professions, which accounts for 21.9% of degrees awarded, followed by Business at 17.6% and Biological Sciences at 12.7%.

The largest single programs are Nursing at 362 degrees awarded, Biology at 248, and Psychology at 230. The highest-ranked program is Management Information Systems and Services, which ranks #3 in Alabama within its field and awards 66 degrees a year.

Health and Medical Administrative Services is also strong, ranking #52 nationally and #2 in Alabama within its field. The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, where graduates earn a median of $104,654 four years after completing the degree.

It is a smaller program, at 70 degrees awarded, and its earnings sit at 1.13x the national median for its field. Biomedical Engineering follows at $90,415, with 51 degrees awarded.

The pattern is a health-sciences anchor with engineering programs that pay well but award fewer degrees. 26.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

The largest programs by degrees awarded are not the highest-earning, and the best-paid outcomes sit in a smaller corner of the catalog.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 362 degrees awarded
$78,224
Biology, General 248 degrees awarded
$55,174
Psychology, General 230 degrees awarded
$46,369
Health and Medical Administrative Services 137 degrees awarded
$53,021
Business Administration, Management and Operations 134 degrees awarded
$63,036
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 122 degrees awarded
$52,435

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / University of Alabama at Birmingham briefing

How does University of Alabama at Birmingham serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the strongest measured pillar at University of Alabama at Birmingham, pairing completion with higher-than-expected earnings. The first-time full-time cohort’s six-year graduation rate is 64.2%, while Pell recipients’ six-year completion rate is 52.8%, below the overall rate by 11.4 percentage points.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth assigns the mobility pillar to the 83rd percentile. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 77th percentile.

Graduates earn about $7,003 more than the model expects for similar students. Completion and modeled earnings point in the same direction.

Entry routes are broad at University of Alabama at Birmingham, where the admission rate is 88.2% and undergraduate enrollment is 11,635 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 34.0% of undergraduates, alongside an estimated 36.0% share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth puts the access pillar in the 77th percentile. The admission rate, Pell participation, and transfer estimate all point to multiple ways into the university.

06 / University of Alabama at Birmingham briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Alabama at Birmingham?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Admissions peerSamford University82.4% admitted
Comparison with University of Alabama at Birmingham
MeasureUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamSamford University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,969$66,567+$1,598 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham
Average annual net price$18,749$32,622+$13,873 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham · higher cost
Admission rate88.2%82.4%
Higher-admission alternativeSpalding University99.5% admitted
Comparison with University of Alabama at Birmingham
MeasureUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamSpalding University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,969$64,136-$833 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham
Average annual net price$18,749$25,491+$6,742 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham · higher cost
Admission rate88.2%99.5%
Nearby alternativeSamford UniversityNearby option · AL
Comparison with University of Alabama at Birmingham
MeasureUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamSamford University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,969$66,567+$1,598 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham
Average annual net price$18,749$32,622+$13,873 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham · higher cost
Admission rate88.2%82.4%
Higher-earnings alternativeCal Poly Maritime Academy$108,757 earnings
Comparison with University of Alabama at Birmingham
MeasureUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamCal Poly Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,969$108,757+$43,788 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham
Average annual net price$18,749$20,555+$1,806 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham · higher cost
Admission rate88.2%95.0%
Explore Cal Poly Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeMississippi University for Women$12,411 average net price
Comparison with University of Alabama at Birmingham
MeasureUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamMississippi University for Women
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,969$62,987-$1,982 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham
Average annual net price$18,749$12,411-$6,338 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham · lower cost
Admission rate88.2%90.3%
Similar profileGeorgia Gwinnett CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Alabama at Birmingham
MeasureUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamGeorgia Gwinnett College
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,969$56,872-$8,097 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham
Average annual net price$18,749$15,844-$2,905 vs University of Alabama at Birmingham · lower cost
Admission rate88.2%95.5%
Explore Georgia Gwinnett College →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings