800 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, AL 35229

Chartered in 1841 in Marion, Alabama as Howard College, Samford is now located in Birmingham, Alabama and is the largest privately funded college in the state. The school opened its doors in 1842 after a group of religious leaders established the college the year before.

The college continued on even after two fires and through the Civil War and reconstruction years. The school moved to Birmingham in 1887 and began admitting women in 1895. In 1965, the same year Howard College gained its university status, it was renamed Samford University, for Frank Park Samford, a high profile Alabaman and one of the college's most generous donors.

Today, Samford University has eight schools: Howard College of Arts and Sciences, School of business, Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies, School of Performing Arts, Ida V. Moffett School of nursing, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Beeson School of Divinity and Cumberland's School of Law.

In 2008, Samford University was ranked twenty-seventh in the nation by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. The study ranks colleges based on students perceptions at the college. Samford was the highest ranked Alabama college in the study.

Students may live at one of five residence halls on campus, in one of the apartment buildings or one of the many Greek houses on campus. The Samford University Library was founded as the same time as the college, located in one room with over 1,000 printed volumes in its collection. Today, the Samford University Library is a state-of-the-art facility with over 1,000 printed materials in its' children's collection. The main library has tens of thousands of printed books, documents and archives dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. The library also has over 1,000 subscriptions to periodicals as well as access to online and electronic data.

Quick Facts:

Most of the students - over 1,100 per year - entering Samford University are from Alabama. However, Samford University also draws students from across the south, including Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana and North Carolina. One of the top northern states sending students to Samford is Indiana.

Samford University awards over 1,100 undergraduate, graduate and doctorate degrees per year.

Samford University offers a wide variety of intercollegiate sports including men's football and baseball; women's softball, soccer and volleyball and men's and women's basketball, golf, cross country, tennis and track and field.

The Pete Hanna Center at Samford University provides students with a fitness center, a weight and training rooms, as well as the Thomas E. and Marla H. Corts Arena.

This school profile has been compiled and updated by The CollegeBound Network. The school is not affiliated with The CollegeBound Network and shall not be considered a sponsor of this program.