University of Alabama, Huntsville

UAH is a public national university located in Huntsville, AL, which Southern Living recently named one of the best college towns in the South. Its students hail from all 50 U.S. states and almost 70 countries. Included among this year’s record-setting enrollment of over 9,700 was an incoming freshman class with the highest average ACT score (28.5) in the school’s history and an average GPA of 3.88. Once they graduate, these students typically go on to earn a higher average starting ($54,000) and mid-career ($98,500) salary than most of their peers across Alabama.
UAH offers nearly 90 degree programs of study at the undergraduate and graduate level, with colleges in Engineering; Education; Honors; Nursing; Science; Business; Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences; Graduate School; and Professional & Continuing Studies. Its robust academic presence is complemented by a vibrant campus life featuring more than 200 student-run organizations, 13 fraternities and sororities, and 18 NCAA sports – including the only Division I ice hockey team in the Southeast.
The university’s 505-acre campus, which includes 16 high-tech research centers and labs responsible for close to $97 million in research expenditures, serves the anchor tenant for the second-largest research park in the nation. It also maintains strong partnerships with federal agencies and commercial organizations that include the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the Missile Defense Agency, the DIA Missile and Space Intelligence Center, and the U.S. Army Materiel Command. 

UAH is regularly ranked the best return on investment among all schools in Alabama, and has been named by the Brookings Institution as the best university in the state based on the economic outcomes of its graduates. Famous UAH alumni include astronaut Dr. Jan Davis, Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks, HudsonAlpha co-founder Jim Hudson, and Smarter Every Day host Destin Sandlin