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The University of AlabamaTuscaloosa, AL · Public

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Finance, General (8% of graduates). 19 students for every faculty member, more than at 87% of colleges. 79% of faculty are full-time. Spends $9,728 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

6,882 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 31% of graduates; 78 programs in 23 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Finance, General 52.08017.9% 547
    Graduates in this field earn $85,020 4 years out
  2. Marketing/Marketing Management, General 52.14017.6% 522
    Graduates in this field earn $77,451 4 years out
  3. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.38015.7% 393
    Graduates in this field earn $85,532 4 years out
  4. Criminology 45.04014.7% 326
  5. Psychology, General 42.01014.5% 311
    Graduates in this field earn $49,900 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Social sciences, 3.6% → 9.7% of graduates since 2014–15 (669 graduates in 2024–25).

Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)

Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.

Top-earning majors here

By earnings 4 years after completion

  1. Computer and Information Sciences, General$115,980 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $83,651

    4 years after completion$115,980
    National median: $92,374Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $86,944 · Non-Pell: $92,348(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $21,992 · 188 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Management Information Systems and Services$105,393 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $74,078

    4 years after completion$105,393
    National median: $83,290Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $95,509 · Non-Pell: $96,098(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $21,375 · 206 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Chemical Engineering$100,857 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $69,809

    4 years after completion$100,857
    National median: $98,158About typical

    4 years out, Pell: $87,111 · Non-Pell: $87,869(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $22,625 · 260 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$98,943 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $79,504

    4 years after completion$98,943
    National median: $100,647About typical

    4 years out, Pell: $96,868 · Non-Pell: $98,531(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $23,787 · 135 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Mechanical Engineering$95,079 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $75,238

    4 years after completion$95,079
    National median: $92,135About typical

    4 years out, Pell: $83,906 · Non-Pell: $83,756(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $24,015 · 524 graduates, two most recent years combined

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college19 to 1
19 to 1
← Fewer students per facultymore students per faculty member than 87% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 19 to 1 in its Common Data Set (33,918 students, 1,754 faculty).

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Class sizes

40%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 20% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–944312%
10–1999528%
20–2966218%
30–3939011%
40–4937110%
50–9944112%
100+2808%

This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.

Full-time faculty79%
National median: 67%Above typical
Average faculty salary

$103,324

9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.

Spending and endowment

Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other public colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable. Many public universities' endowments sit mostly in a separate foundation this survey doesn't count, so this likely understates what's actually available.

Instruction spending per student$9,728
$9,728
← Lessmore than 40% of 557More →
Endowment per student$42,908
$42,908
← Lessmore than 86% of 537More →

Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;The University of Alabama Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)