by our College Data Analytics TeamSamford University is a private not-for-profit institution in Birmingham, Alabama enrolling 4,206 undergraduates. It accepts 82% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 77%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #231 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 4%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Samford University ranks #231 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 4%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Samford University was awarded 397 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked Samford as #231 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Samford is also ranked #2 on the Best Colleges in Alabama list.
See all of the rankings for Samford University.
The acceptance rate at Samford University is 82%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that Samford is a good fit for you.
About 25% of students accepted to Samford submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 550 and 640. Math scores were between 520 and 610.
Samford received ACT scores from 66% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 28.
Learn more about Samford University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 14 to 1, Samford University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Samford University is 99%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Samford University has a freshmen retention rate of 93%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Samford the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 77%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Samford University.
The current enrollment includes 4,206 undergraduates at Samford.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Samford University.
The average net price of Samford is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $22,716 | $24,812 | $31,527 | $34,206 | $36,235 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Samford, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Samford, approximately 27% of students took out student loans averaging $6,374 a year. That adds up to $25,496 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.3%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Samford University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Samford University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $58,469 in their early years. This is good news for future Samford University graduates since it is 19% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Samford University make the most money.
Samford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham is a good match for students who enjoy the safety and convenience of the suburbs. Get more details about the location of Samford University.
Contact details for Samford University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229-2240 |
| Phone: | 2057262011 |
| Website: | www.samford.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samford_University |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/SamfordU |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 25 majors graduated from Samford University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 1,686 | NA |
| Nursing | 209 | $66,345 |
| Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences | 160 | NA |
| Law | 141 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 99 | $61,985 |
| Accounting | 69 | $56,217 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 65 | $40,304 |
| Marketing | 64 | $39,073 |
| Journalism | 49 | $38,043 |
| Educational Administration | 47 | $73,104 |
654 students took at least one online class at Samford University.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at Samford University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to Samford? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References