University of North Alabama

Public · Moderately Selective · AL

Photo: Carol M. Highsmith (Public domain)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationAL · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads5,811

Student:faculty18:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate35.5%

6-yr grad rate54.9%

Drop-out rate20.3%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$12k

Out-of-state tuition$22k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity31.2%

Gender diversity61.6%

International5.9%

Identity—

Overview

The University of North Alabama, in Florence, is Alabama's oldest public university, set in the Shoals region long known for its music history — the Muscle Shoals recording studios and the broader Southern soul and rock scene are a short drive from campus.

Academics

Business, nursing, and education are the most established programs, offered in a traditional, accessible format typical of a mid-sized regional public university.

Campus & student life

Florence is a small Alabama city with a genuine music-history identity, and UNA's campus carries a traditional, close-knit Southern college feel. The school's most distinctive tradition is its live lion mascot — a real lion kept on campus and central to school spirit — a rarity among American universities.

Getting in

Admission is accessible and transcript-driven, in keeping with the school's role as a broadly accessible regional public university for north Alabama and the surrounding Tennessee Valley.

After graduation

Graduates in nursing, education, and business place steadily with regional Alabama employers and school systems, and the school draws real loyalty from a student body that is often first in their family to attend college.

Worth knowing

The live lion tradition is genuinely central to campus identity, not a minor mascot detail — the lion has an on-campus habitat and is a fixture of school pride.

una.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate87.3%

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying