Published on August 18, 2004 at 7 p.m. by 2004-08-19  

Â鶹¹û¶³ again ranks as one of the top institutions in the South in the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of America’s Best Colleges.

Â鶹¹û¶³ is fifth in the South in the Best Universities-Master’s category, which includes schools offering a full range of undergraduate and master’s programs and some doctoral programs. Â鶹¹û¶³ offers 23 degree programs including 15 at the master’s and doctoral levels.

U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on a school’s academic reputation, freshman retention rates, faculty resources, class size, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.

Â鶹¹û¶³ has been ranked in the top seven schools in its category for 15 consecutive years.

Rankings were announced Friday, Aug. 20. U.S. News ranks the schools in four categories--Best National-Doctoral, Best Universities-Master's, Best Liberal Arts Colleges-Bachelor's and Best Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor's. The Best Universities-Master's category is the largest (572 schools) and is divided into four geographic regions.

Â鶹¹û¶³ enrolls more than 4,400 students from 44 states and foreign students from 33 countries.

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Â鶹¹û¶³ is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Â鶹¹û¶³ enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 35 Most Beautiful College Campuses, Â鶹¹û¶³ fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.