University of South Alabama

Admission to the University of South Alabama is relatively accessible, though its selection process is stricter than that of most comparable institutions. In the 2027 U.S. News National University Rankings, the university placed 332nd, recovering ground after falling to 382 in 2024. For 2025, the university admitted 71% of applicants, an admit rate higher than 20% of peer schools in a comparison group of 30 similarly ranked public universities. Admitted students, however, show modest inclination to attend. The university recorded a yield rate of 21%, higher than 57% of peer schools, which shows that roughly one in five admitted applicants decided to enroll. For applicants planning their college lists, these trends indicate that securing admission is realistic, but the modest yield rate reflects that the university does not strongly draw the majority of the students it accepts.

Applicants targeting the University of South Alabama typically present solid secondary school marks alongside moderate standardized testing. Testing is heavily oriented toward the ACT, where the middle fifty percent of admitted students in 2025 earned a composite score between 20 and 26. For applicants taking the SAT, the university reported a median composite score of 1110, which was higher than 75% of peer schools within its comparison group of similarly ranked public universities. Beyond standardized assessments, classroom performance remains a central benchmark: during the 2022–2023 academic year, over a third of incoming students achieved a perfect high school grade point average, while the vast majority maintained strong secondary records. Prospective students can position themselves competitively by securing scores within the mid-twenties on the ACT and demonstrating consistent academic performance across their secondary school coursework.

Academic offerings at the University of South Alabama center heavily on health professions, though undergraduate size and national program prestige do not always align. At the bachelor's level, enrollment is concentrated, with the top three majors representing 31.3% of all undergraduate degrees awarded in 2025. Registered Nursing was the single largest undergraduate major, producing 350 graduates, but U.S. News ranked undergraduate nursing outside the top tier at 172 in 2027. Instead, the university's highest-ranked programs reside at the graduate level, where Physician Assistant studies ranked 58 in 2025 and Audiology ranked 58 in 2026. International students account for negligible shares in these clinical programs. Earnings data from 2023 indicate that technological and health disciplines yield the strongest starting pay, led by Chemical Engineering graduates at a median of $80,148 one year after graduation. Prospective applicants should note that while nursing constitutes the university's academic core, engineering yields the highest early post-graduate salaries.

The student body at the University of South Alabama totaled 14,003 students in 2025, reflecting an institution serving primarily domestic students alongside a large graduate division. Female students make up the clear majority across undergraduate cohorts and advanced study. Asian and international students account for very small segments of the campus community. Within the 2025 first-time freshman class, the university enrolled 59 Asian students and 33 international students, with domestic White and Black students comprising the vast majority of first-year learners. A similar demographic pattern extends across continuing undergraduate and transfer cohorts, where local representation remains predominant. At the graduate level, the university enrolled 173 international students, who represent the largest single grouping of overseas scholars on campus. Overall, international and Asian students form small minorities within a student population that is heavily rooted in the surrounding state and regional communities.

The student age distribution at the University of South Alabama shows a clear division between its undergraduate and graduate populations. In 2025, undergraduates were heavily concentrated in traditional college age brackets, with students aged 18 to 19 comprising 35.9% and those aged 20 to 21 accounting for 32.2% of the undergraduate body. In contrast, the graduate student population spans a substantially older age range. Students aged 25 to 29 formed the largest graduate segment at 26.2%, alongside sizeable cohorts in their early twenties and thirties. This demographic distinction means campus life encompasses two distinct communities: an undergraduate environment dominated by young adults entering directly after secondary education, and a graduate sector composed predominantly of older individuals.

International representation at the University of South Alabama has trended downward over the past decade across both study levels. At the undergraduate level, international students accounted for 1.2% of undergraduates in 2025, a proportion that is higher than 30% of peer schools among similarly ranked public comprehensive universities. Graduate international enrollment experienced a similar contraction, reaching 3.6% of all graduate students in 2025. Among degree recipients, international students are virtually absent from the university's largest healthcare fields, representing less than one percent of bachelor's graduates in Registered Nursing and zero percent of master's graduates in that program. Instead, international degree earners are primarily found in business fields, making up 16% of master's graduates in Business Administration and Management, General. For prospective applicants from abroad, these trends demonstrate that international students constitute a small segment of the campus community, with representation concentrated largely in select post-baccalaureate disciplines.

Students evaluating the University of South Alabama have several prominent public and private alternatives within the broader Gulf Coast region. Located roughly 127 kilometers away in New Orleans, Tulane University of Louisiana is a private national university ranked 59th in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. Within the state of Alabama, the flagship The University of Alabama sits 178 kilometers north in Tuscaloosa, holding a national university rank of 156. In Birmingham, approximately 210 kilometers away, University of Alabama at Birmingham is another major public institution, ranked 137th nationally. Additionally, Auburn University, situated 206 kilometers from Mobile, is ranked 100th among national universities. These regional universities offer distinct academic settings, from urban private research institutions to large public land-grant campuses, within a two- to three-hour drive of Mobile.

Campus safety at the University of South Alabama has shown general improvement over the past decade. The crime rate per 1,000 students declined over recent years to reach 5.3 in 2025, indicating a relatively low overall incident frequency on campus grounds. Across the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, domestic violence represented the most prevalent reported infraction, totaling 87 incidents. Disciplinary actions for substance infractions and property crimes accounted for most remaining reports during that same timeframe, including 27 disciplinary referrals for alcohol violations alongside modest counts of theft, assault, and drug violations. These figures indicate that security interventions on campus are primarily tied to interpersonal disputes and policy violations rather than pervasive violent crime. For prospective students evaluating safety conditions, the university maintains an environment where reported incidents have decreased over time, though awareness of personal safety and campus conduct regulations remains important.