Samford University

Birmingham, AL · Private nonprofit · 4,206 undergrads (small, suburb) · website ↗

Baptist
Test-optional
$40 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$22,716
$30,000 – $48,000	$24,812
$48,000 – $75,000	$31,527
$75,000 – $110,000	$34,206
Over $110,000	$36,235
All incomes (average)	$32,622

Sticker tuition and fees: $40,150 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Samford University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$14,260
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$22,049
Books and supplies	$1,200
Other expenses, on campus	$5,336
Other expenses, off campus	$5,996

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (972 of them) in 2022–23; 100% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	100%	$21,758
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	11%	$5,348
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	100%	$20,527
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	34%	$5,270

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 82%
Average SAT: 1201
Median ACT: 26
Students with Pell grants: 11%
Graduation rate (6yr): 77%
Freshman retention: 93%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $58,469
Median debt at graduation: $19,500
International undergrads: 29 (0.8%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $40
Students per faculty member: 14 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 99%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 550–640
SAT Math: 520–610
ACT composite: 22–28

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 4,541
Admitted: 3,734
Enrolled: 1,080

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Health & Nursing30%

Business23%

Visual & Performing Arts7%

Communications & Media7%

Social Sciences4%

Biology & Life Sciences4%

Psychology3%

Education3%

History2%

Kinesiology & Sports Science2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (15)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	102	$72,080	$72,517national $88,910	$24,187
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	86	—	$119,888national $116,539	—
Finance and Financial Management Services	55	$63,012	$93,444national $83,343	$19,487
Marketing	55	$49,303	$70,839national $69,303	$14,000
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	48	—	—national $61,296	$22,708
Journalism	47	$41,177	$50,652national $56,278	$21,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	42	$46,803	$52,171national $47,382	$19,500
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs	42	—	—national $61,911	$19,500
Psychology, General	41	—	—national $50,706	$20,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	35	$56,162	$76,584national $68,257	$18,390
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	34	$34,917	$50,809national $48,568	$19,500
Design and Applied Arts	33	$42,854	—national $51,490	$25,168
Accounting and Related Services	27	—	$90,572national $76,194	—
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	16	—	$47,117national $54,562	—
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	12	—	—national $39,775	$19,500

Master's degrees (12)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	48	$57,475	$119,341national $103,485	$45,864
Theological and Ministerial Studies	39	$42,369	$50,016national $61,300	$36,459
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	38	$142,364	$127,084national $120,193	$90,709
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	35	$103,982	—national $127,347	$133,736
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	29	$66,851	$57,010national $67,030	$74,750
Social Work	24	$48,511	$55,271national $65,123	$41,000
Public Health	21	$61,233	$92,506national $82,751	—
Accounting and Related Services	18	—	$92,202national $95,833	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	15	—	$63,341national $71,685	—
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies	12	$100,585	$122,699national $101,000	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	10	$50,249	$54,714national $59,916	—
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	—	$73,263	$85,180national $71,416	—

Doctoral degrees (5)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	35	$104,830	$105,374national $100,573	$90,440
Law	—	$70,843	$91,687national $105,518	$144,096
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	—	$101,554	$132,942national $136,696	$223,898
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	—	—	—national $82,893	$117,971
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	—	$115,176	$101,915national $138,131	$59,267

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 79 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229-2240
Phone: (205) 726-2011
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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