,·Private (Baptist-affiliated, Christian)·Est. 1841
“Alabama's oldest private university — a Baptist-affiliated, Georgian-redbrick campus in suburban Birmingham known for health professions, business, and law.”
Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, an inner-suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, founded in 1841 by Alabama Baptists as Howard College. With about 5,800 students (roughly 3,800 undergraduates), it is the largest privately supported and the third-largest accredited institution of higher learning in Alabama. Its red-brick, Georgian-Colonial campus is consistently ranked among the most beautiful in the South and serves as the cinematic stand-in for many a Southern liberal-arts ideal — manicured quads, white columns, and a chapel at the heart of campus. Academically, Samford organizes 180+ undergraduate majors, minors, and concentrations across 10 schools and colleges, with particular strength in health professions (Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences), business (Brock School of Business), communications, education, and the arts. The university has earned national recognition for undergraduate teaching: U.S. News ranks Samford #35 nationally for Best Undergraduate Teaching and #105 for Best Value (2026), and the Wall Street Journal has placed Samford in its top 10 for student experience for several consecutive years. The Cumberland School of Law's trial-advocacy program has been a national top-10 program for seven consecutive years. Student life is shaped by a Christ-centered, mission-driven culture: weekly convocation, an active Greek system, intramurals, and service-learning are central to the experience, while the Birmingham metro adds NCAA Division I athletics (the Bulldogs in the Southern Conference), a thriving food and music scene, and easy access to internships in healthcare, finance, and law. International enrollment is small but growing — students join a community of peers from roughly 29 countries supported by the Global Engagement Office.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceThe deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$38,000 – $41,910
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$40,150 – $42,261
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Liberal-arts core of the university with majors across humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences; home of the pre-health and pre-law advising tracks.
AACSB-accredited business school known for entrepreneurship, finance, accounting, and a values-based, faith-integrated approach to business education.
Direct-admit BSN program with high NCLEX pass rates and clinical placements across UAB Health and Birmingham-area hospitals.
Doctor of Pharmacy program housed within the College of Health Sciences with a strong pipeline into Alabama and Southeast retail, hospital, and clinical pharmacy.
Founded 1847; nationally recognized trial-advocacy program (top 10 nationally for 7 consecutive years) with strong moot court traditions.
Newer school offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in public health, healthcare administration, and population health.
4 years
Direct-admit BSN at the Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing — Samford's most popular major (~105 graduates per year). High NCLEX pass rates and rotations through UAB Hospital, Children's of Alabama, and the Birmingham VA.
4 years
Six-year direct-entry PharmD pathway at McWhorter School of Pharmacy with strong residency match rates and integration with the College of Health Sciences.
4 years
AACSB-accredited Brock School of Business programs with cohort experiences, faith-integrated business ethics, and strong Birmingham-region placement (Regions Financial, Protective Life, BBVA, Big-4 audit).
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $40,150
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
