University of Alabama at Birmingham

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System. UAB offers 140 programs of study in 12 academic divisions leading to bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees in the social and behavioral sciences, the liberal arts, business, education, engineering, and health-related fields such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, nursing, and public health.
The UAB Health System, one of the largest academic medical centers in the United States, is affiliated with the university. UAB Hospital sponsors residency programs in medical specialties, including internal medicine, neurology, surgery, radiology, and anesthesiology. UAB Hospital is the only ACS verified Level I trauma center in Alabama, as rated by the American College of Surgeons Trauma Program.
UAB is the state's largest employer, with more than 18,000 faculty and staff and over 53,000 jobs at the university and in the health system. An estimated 10 percent of the jobs in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area and 1 in 33 jobs in the state of Alabama are directly or indirectly related to UAB. The university's overall annual economic impact was estimated to be $4.6 billion in 2010.
In the fall of 2012, the University of Alabama at Birmingham enrolled 17,999 students from more than 110 countries, including 1,605 freshmen.
The UAB President is Dr. Ray L. Watts.

Sitweb: http://www.uab.edu/

Campus: UAB is located in the Southside neighborhood of downtown Birmingham. Spanning around 83 blocks, the UAB campus blends with the urban character of the Southside. The campus is rectangular in shape with University Boulevard serving as the main axis of the rectangle and Campus Green serving as the center of the campus.
The campus can be divided into three sections. The medical center occupies most of the campus east of Campus Green. The medical center is home to health science schools and their teaching facilities, including the UAB Health System (UABHS). The medical center overlaps with the larger Birmingham Medical District where, in addition to UABHS, non-UAB affiliated hospitals such as the VA Medical Center Birmingham, Children's Hospital of Alabama and Cooper Green Mercy Hospital are located.
The part of campus from Campus Green west and University Boulevard south is the academic center of the campus, as well as the center of student life on campus. It is anchored by Campus Green, which was developed between 2000 and 2007 as the centerpiece of the move to convert the school from its theretofore commuter school feel into a more traditional residential campus.
Athletics facilities, including Bartow Arena, are located on the far western side of campus. Legion Field, located a few miles west of campus, is the home of the football team, but planning is underway for an on-campus football stadium adjacent to Bartow Arena.
Since 1969, UAB has undergone extensive growth and is sometimes jokingly referred to as "The University that Ate Birmingham"[citation needed], and construction projects are common across campus. Projects that are in planning, recently completed, or under construction include:

• Shelby Biomedical Research Building
• Southern Bio-Safety Lab Alabama Birmingham
• Alumni Affairs House
• UAB Softball Complex
• Campus Green Project
• Women's and Infants Center 
• Hazelrig-Salter Radiation Oncology Facility

Academics:

UAB is a large, four-year primarily non-residential research university. UAB has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since 1970, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Undergraduates comprise a majority of the total university enrollment. Part-time and transfer student comprise a sizable portion of the undergraduate student body. The undergraduate instructional program provides a balance between professional programs of study and the liberal arts (meaning the number of degrees awarded in the two areas is similar), and there is a high level of co-existence between the graduate and undergraduate programs (meaning that the majority of undergraduate program have graduate degree program counterparts). The university has a high level of research activity and has a graduate instructional program emphasizing doctorates in STEM fields as well as professional programs in the health and veterinary sciences. UAB is only one of 108 universities in the country (and only one of two in Alabama) with the "very high level" research rating.

The academic calendar is based on the semester system, which divides the academic year, lasting from mid-August to early May, into two 15-week semesters (fall and spring) and the summer. The fall semester ends in early December and the spring term begins in early January. The summer, which lasts from mid-May to August, is divided into a number of sessions: a 12-week session, a 3-week "mini-semester" in May, a nine-week session in June and July, and two four-week sessions in June and July, respectively.[20] The schools of medicine and dentistry follow an academic calendar beginning in July and ending in late May/early June.

In academic year 2011-2012, UAB awarded a total 2,009 bachelor's degrees and post-bachelor certificates; 1,547 master's degrees, educational specialist degrees, and post-master's certificates; 286 research doctorates; and 279 professional doctorates.