About
At Samford University you’ll find the personal relationships of a small college with the dynamic academic, cultural, and athletics resources of a major university.
Mission
The mission of Samford University is to nurture persons in their development of intellect, creativity, faith, and personhood. As a Christian university, the community fosters academic, career, and ethical competency while encouraging social and civic responsibility, and service to others.
Overview
Samford is a private four-year coeducational institution that was founded as Howard College in 1841, and is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention. The university includes the Howard College of Arts and Sciences, School of the Arts, School of Health Professions, Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, School of Public Health, Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing, Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education, and Beeson Divinity School.
Samford is the largest private university in Alabama with nearly 5,000 students. But unlike other universities, its class sizes are small with a 12:1 student to faculty ratio, and no classes are taught by graduate assistants. Students at Samford can choose from 149 undergraduate and graduate majors, minors, and concentrations. Some of the most popular degrees are in journalism, communications, art, arts and sciences, business, education, law, pre-law, nursing, marketing, and public relations. There are a wide variety of others listed here: http://www.samford.edu/studentrecords/academic-programs.aspx
Samford University was ranked 3rd in Southern Regional Universities by the U.S. News & World Report 2014 edition of Best Colleges. Its tuition and fees are $27,324 (2014-15). Samford provides its students with numerous opportunities to secure financial aid. For example, as many as 12 freshmen who enroll in the fall of 2015 will be awarded Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising Scholarships. Each scholarship is worth up to $1,800 per year. For scholarship details and more information about Samford’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, see http://www.samford.edu/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=21474865121
Samford Campus
Samford University is located in Homewood, Alabama, a suburb of downtown Birmingham. The 318-acre campus features lush lawns, well-maintained gardens, and a distinctive style of Georgian architecture based upon Colonial Williamsburg. Area attractions include the Birmingham Zoo, Botanical Gardens, Homewood Forest Preserve (Home of the Spotted Salamander), Lakeshore Greenway trail for walking, running, and bicycling, and the original “Iron Man” – Vulcan, the world’s largest cast iron statue.
Samford University provides on-campus housing and meal plans, which includes nineteen meals per week. Campus facilities include the Beeson University Center, which is the hub of activity on campus, a bookstore, Career Development Center, counseling services, disability support services, dining hall, food court, and a post office.
Student Life
According to Samford officials, co-curricular involvement is an important aspect of a total education. Because of this philosophy, Samford students are encouraged to select from more than 100 campus clubs and organizations including student government, honors, religious, professional, educational, service, and social organizations. These groups, overseen by the Office of Student Involvement, offer students an opportunity to explore their interests with like-minded individuals. Samford’s diversity of programming ranges from a student-led group of Oxfam America, a social justice organization, to the Samford Young Life chapter, an Evangelical Christian group.
Samford University Bulldogs varsity sports teams, which compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference, include eight men’s sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis, as well as indoor and outdoor track & field; and nine women’s sports: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, and volleyball. Intramural sports include bowling, flag football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, tennis, kickball, dodge ball, and ultimate Frisbee. Students also participate in numerous campus-wide events and annual school traditions.
Samford University has a student ratio of 65% female to 35% male students. Samford students come from 22 countries and 44 states, providing a culturally diverse atmosphere. All undergraduate students (with some exceptions) are required to live on campus until the age of 21 to the extent that on-campus student housing facilities can accommodate them. Approximately 66% of undergraduates— freshmen, sophomores, and many juniors— live on campus. Many senior undergraduates also live on campus. Consequently, student life at Samford is heavily intertwined with campus life.
Homeschool Students
Homeschool graduates attending Samford University include Abigail Slone of Powell, Ohio, a sophomore majoring in Marketing and Economics. Abigail, who has made the Dean’s List each semester at Samford, is a sister of Alpha Delta Pi and a member of Alpha Lambda Delta honor society, and she engages in many different pursuits. As part of her interest in activism and empowerment, she completed a year-long internship as a graphic designer with the Smart Girls Group prior to coming to college. Since her arrival at Samford, Abigail has become a Southern SMASH Ambassador and has joined the leadership team of iNVEST, a faith-based organization in the Brock School of Business that emphasizes Christian leadership. This past JanTem, Abigail worked with Samford’s Academic Success Center. This summer, she worked with the Fellows Program as a preceptor for the Great Ideas Summer Institute.
Audrey Ward (see also http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20110718/ARTICLES/110719857), a homeschooler from Hendersonville, North Carolina, is an English major in her senior year at Samford. Audrey, a National Merit Scholarship winner, received the English Department’s Sophomore Faculty Award and is on the Dean’s List. A member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society, she is the 2014 recipient of the Gaines S. Dobbins English Scholarship and a member of the Reformed University Fellowship ministry team. In addition to her studies in the English department, Audrey is also a world languages minor with an emphasis in Spanish and Arabic. This summer, she interned with Serge in Barcelona, Spain.
Hamilton Spivey, a homeschool graduate and pre-business major from McMinnville, Tennessee, is a junior at Samford. Hamilton, a National Merit Commended Student, earned the rank of Eagle Scout and was very active in his Boy Scout troop. He also served two years on the state council for Tennessee 4-H and was a Tennessee Boys State Delegate. Additionally, Hamilton was a part of Cheney Fencing and competed in the Junior Olympics last February. After taking an economics class his junior year, Hamilton discovered his passion for macroeconomics and looks forward to taking business classes. Hamilton eventually plans to either pursue a doctorate in economics or earn his MBA and work with his family.
Kathryn Henriques, a homeschool student from Indian Springs, Alabama, has dedicated her studies at Samford to aligning dance and business in a unique way. Her degree, which she is creating through the Brock Scholars Program, will be in Arts Administration with a minor in Dance. Over the past three years, she has interned with the Children’s Dance Foundation, the Red Mountain Theatre Company, and the 2014 USA International Ballet Competition. On campus, Kathryn is one of two directors for Grace Dance Ministries, and last April she choreographed a piece for “Momentum,” Samford’s annual dance concert. In addition to being a University Fellow and a Brock Scholar, Kathryn is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies and a perennial Dean’s List recipient.
Mollie Love, a homeschool graduate and freshman at Samford, is a Musical Theatre major with a dance minor. Active in the arts community from an early age, she has taught drama, recitation, and music at a private Christian girls’ school and been in over 40 plays, musicals, and operas. Throughout high school, Mollie loved having the opportunity to tour elementary schools and Title 1 schools to perform. Mollie participated in Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater’s touring ambassador group, Players. She has been involved in advertising through the local media with interviews, TV ads, and public service announcements. She has also enjoyed assisting with VBS, church day camps, and teaching 3rd Grade Sunday school.
Homeschool student Nathan Smolin of Birmingham, Alabama, has been dually enrolled at Samford since his sophomore year of high school, completing 72 college credit hours by graduation. Vice President of Samford’s Catholic Student Association, he is also the President of Samford’s chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, the Classics Honor Society. Last summer, Nathan received an ASPIRE research grant and worked on a project entitled “1504: History, Myth, and the Making of a Schism.” He presented the resulting paper at the 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies this past May. This summer, Nathan participated in the Paideia Institute’s “Living Latin in Rome” program, spending five weeks engaging with Latin’s most crucial texts in Rome, Italy.
View more student profiles at: http://www.samford.edu/fellows/studentprofiles.aspx
Admissions
Samford has a 76% acceptance rate, so obtaining admission is moderately difficult. The profiles above indicate the type of students who excel at the university, but anyone who meets the admission criteria is welcome to apply. High school graduates should have taken 16 units of academic work including 4 units of English, at least 3 units of college preparatory math, 1 unit of laboratory science, 3 units of social science, 2 units of a foreign language, and 3 elective units. Average standardized test scores for first-year students who were accepted and enrolled are: 564 SAT Math, 570 SAT Reading, 557 SAT Writing, and 25 ACT composite.
All applicants need to submit a transcript of courses taken during each year of high school, as well as documentation that shows the student has met the state’s requirements for graduation. Required application materials include a recommendation from an adult who is not a family member (a scout leader, pastor, etc.), a personal statement essay, and a leadership resume. Other considerations included in the application are participation in extracurricular activities, etc. Fill out an application online or call the Office of Admission for a printed copy. Samford also strongly encourages an on-campus meeting with an admissions counselor.
For additional information about Samford University, visit http://www.samford.edu.