Birmingham-Southern
College
Sheri S. Salmon
Dean of Enrollment Management
900 Arkadelphia Road
Birmingham, AL 35254
205-226-4696
800-523-5793
admission@bsc.edu
http://www.bsc.edu
COSTS:
Tuition:
$25,800
Room and Board:
$7,500
Fees, books, misc.:
$920
Birmingham, Alabama
Overview
Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) was created through a merger of Southern University (established in 1856) and Birmingham College (established in 1898). Since 1959, when Harper’s Magazine called it “one of the leading small colleges in the South,” Birmingham-Southern continues to be recognized as one of the nation’s outstanding liberal arts institutions. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Birmingham-Southern College as one of the best values in higher education and as one of the most efficient schools; Money ranked Birmingham-Southern as one of the 100 Best College Buys. The College has also been recognized by the John Templeton Foundation’s Honor Roll as one of 100 schools nationwide that emphasize character building as an integral part of the college experience and as one of twenty-two private colleges and universities nationwide named a Best Buy in the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Birmingham-Southern also is among the 100 Colleges Worth Considering, as compiled by Washington Post staff writer Jay Mathews; one of America’s Best Christian Colleges by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc.; one of the nation’s top thirty colleges by the Washington Times; and one of the forty schools in Loren Pope’s Colleges That Change Lives.
Each year, Birmingham-Southern ranks first in Alabama and among the nation’s best in percentage of all graduates accepted to medical, dental, or health career programs; the College also ranks high nationally in graduates accepted to law school.
At the graduate level, Birmingham-Southern offers Master of Arts in public and private management and Master of Music degrees.
Location
and Community
Located on a 197-acre hilltop campus in western Birmingham, the College
is just 3 miles via I-59/20 from the downtown business district. Birmingham,
which is Alabama’s largest city, has been honored by the U.S. Conference
of Mayors as the “Most Livable City in America” and offers
fine restaurants, museums, city and state parks, and theater. Its offerings
are supplemented by the activities of four other Birmingham colleges.
Birmingham’s 17,000-seat Civic Center is the setting for many outstanding
cultural and athletic events.
Academic
Life
Birmingham-Southern offers the undergraduate degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Music Education, and Bachelor of Fine Arts. Departmental majors include accounting, art, art education, biology, business administration, chemistry, computer science, dance, economics, education, engineering (3-2 program), English, environmental studies (3-2 program), French, German, history, international studies, mathematics, music, music education, nursing (3-2 program), philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, sociology, Spanish, and theater arts. Individualized and interdisciplinary majors are also available. Birmingham-Southern is one of only six Baccalaureate Colleges—Liberal Arts, as classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, to hold both AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation and the designation of Phi Beta Kappa.
Majors
Offered:
The College operates on a 4-1-4 calendar. Thirty-six
units are required for the bachelor’s degree; these comprise 32
regular term units and 4 Interim Term units. The minimum residence requirement
is two years. In addition to its traditional liberal arts programs, Birmingham-Southern
offers a number of individualized learning opportunities to meet students’
special needs and career goals. These are the Honors Program, the Mentor
Program, independent study, the student internship program, individualized
majors, and the Interim Term. The College emphasizes international opportunities
for students through course offerings, visitors to the campus, and international
travel/study programs. Through the Associated Colleges of the South, the
College offers international programs in England, Brazil, and Central
Europe.
Credit is available through Advanced Placement tests and also may be earned through a College-approved internship program.
Birmingham-Southern offers several special programs, including a one-week Student Leaders in Service program and a dual-enrollment program that enables high school seniors to take college-credit courses.
Facilities
and Resources
Birmingham-Southern College features several new facilities, including
the Norton Campus Center, the Striplin Physical Fitness Center, and the
Stephens Science Center. Under construction are an environmental lake
and park area for student use and an admission hospitality house. BSC
is home to the Meyer Planetarium, the first public planetarium in Alabama.
The only split-revolve-lift stage in the country is housed in the College
Theatre. Six fraternity houses on fraternity row recently opened, and
a major renovation to Daniel Men’s Residence Hall resulted in suite-style
living. A newly renovated Humanities Center also recently opened.
Campus
Life
More than 80 student organizations, including service, honorary, and special interest groups; 15 fraternities and sororities; musical groups, including three choirs; dance; theatre; school newspaper, yearbook, and literary magazine.
Sports
/ Varsity Athletics
Birmingham-Southern competes in NCAA Division
III athletics and supports twenty varsity sports. New sports include football,
men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and
women’s lacrosse. The College has more than eighty clubs and organizations
and intramural sports. Its enrollment averages around 1,400 students per
year.
Expenses
Tuition at BSC is $25,800, and room and board fees averaged $7,500. There was a $320 student activity fee. Estimated expenses for books and supplies were $1,000. Transportation and personal expenses are additional costs.
Financial
Aid / Scholarships
Birmingham-Southern feels strongly that well-qualified students should have an opportunity for a college education regardless of economic circumstances. More than 95 percent of the College’s students receive financial aid of some kind. Birmingham-Southern students received more than $24 million in aid last year. Scholarships and grants range from $1000 to full tuition and may be renewed annually. Each student requesting financial assistance must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). With the exception of the College’s competitive scholarship programs and the Alabama Student Grant, all financial assistance awarded through the Office of Student Financial Aid Services is based on a demonstrated need determined from the required forms. Preference is given to those students who file by the March 1 priority deadline. In addition to the need-based programs, Birmingham-Southern awards more than $1.5 million in merit-based scholarships through a scholarship competition that is held in the spring.
Admission
Requirements / Application
Approximately 375 freshmen are selected for
admission on the basis of high school record, ACT or SAT scores, academic
courses attempted, an admission essay, an interview, and recommendations
of school officials. Applicants are expected to have completed at least
16 units of course work, 12 of which must be in academic subjects. Four
units of English and at least 2 units each of mathematics, history, science,
and social sciences are required, and 2 units of a foreign language are
recommended. Students are encouraged to take more than the minimum units
required in academic subjects.
Although an interview is not required except in the case of early admission, each applicant is encouraged to visit the campus and talk with an admission counselor or the Dean of Enrollment Management.
Transfer applicants must have at least a C average (2.0 on a 4.0 scale)
on a full schedule of courses that are acceptable to Birmingham-Southern
and a status of good standing with a clear academic and social record
from the last college attended. If the applicant has attended more than
one college, his or her overall average at these schools must meet the
minimum academic-year grade point average required at Birmingham-Southern.
Transfer students may enroll at the beginning of any term.
Birmingham-Southern College
Sheri S. Salmon
Dean of Enrollment Management
900 Arkadelphia Road
Birmingham, Alabama 35254
205-226-4696
800-523-5793
admission@bsc.edu
http://www.bsc.edu
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