University of Alabama

Also known as Alabama, Bama, UA, The University of Alabama, ua.edu, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Alabama University

public university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States

Key facts

Type: Public research university
Established: December 18, 1820 ; 205 years ago ( 1820-12-18 )
Parent institution: University of Alabama System
Accreditation: SACS
Academic affiliations: ORAU URA Sea grant Space grant
Endowment: $2.59 billion (2025), (system-wide)
President: Peter J. Mohler
Academic staff: 1,986 (1,517 full-time & 469 part-time)
Students: 42,360 (fall 2025)
Undergraduates: 36,160 (fall 2025)
Postgraduates: 6,200 (fall 2025)
Campus: Small city , 1,970 acres (8.0 km )

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Article

The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public universities in Alabama as well as the University of Alabama System. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

The university offers programs of study in 12 academic divisions leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctoral degrees. The only publicly supported law school in the state is at UA. The school was a center of activity during the American Civil War and the civil rights movement. The University of Alabama varsity football program (nicknamed the Crimson Tide), inaugurated in 1892, ranks as one of the ten best in US history. In a 1913 speech, UA president George H. Denny extolled the university as the "capstone of the public school system in the state", thereby establishing the university's current nickname, The Capstone. As of fall 2025, UA has produced 16 Truman Scholars, 45 Hollings Scholars, 21 Boren Scholars, and 69 Goldwater Scholars.