Campus and Community Life
 |
Arts
On campus, you can experience frequent presentations and performances sponsored by our nationally known UA programs in music, theater, art, book arts, and creative writing. The University sponsors many lectures, research seminars, symposia, and colloquia.
Off-campus offerings include a monthly Art Night highlighting talents of Tuscaloosa-Northport artists, the nationally known folk art festival Kentuck, and performances at the Historic Bama Theatre. From painting to quilting and weaving, several fine art and folk art guilds operate chapters in and around Tuscaloosa.
Athletics, health, and fitness
UA is known nationally for its competitive intercollegiate athletics. We also support many intramural sports and promote fitness with extensive and well-maintained facilities for almost all standard indoor and outdoor sports. Our large Student Recreation Center offers year-round opportunities to stay fit with classes, a variety of courts and exercise equipment, and both indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
Services
Our campus student services include a student health center, counseling service, psychological services, speech and hearing services, career center, Graduate Student Association, Capstone International Center, Student Support Services, Office of Disability Services, Office of Veterans Services, and the Center for Teaching and Learning.
The Graduate School sponsors two special programs. Graduate Parent Support (GPS) provides resources and social activities for graduate students with children (http://www.gps.ua.edu), and Tide Together is a mentoring program for first year doctoral students (http://graduate.ua.edu/students/tidetogether.html).
Housing
Housing is available in the many neighborhoods surrounding the University where apartments, rental houses, and condominiums are plentiful and reasonably priced. For more information concerning off-campus housing please contact Julie Elmore, Assistant Director for off-campus housing at 205-348-9647 or jelmore@sa.ua.edu. You may also visit www.TuscaloosaApartmentGuide.com or www.crimsonchoice.ua.edu.
Community
 |
Tuscaloosa , a city of nearly 100,000, is within an hour’s drive of Birmingham and about four hours from Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans. Graduate students enjoy parks, museum, restaurants, shopping malls, and outdoor recreation. The city, which dates to the early 19 th century, stands on a bluff of the Black Warrior River, surrounded by lakes, forests, and rolling countryside. Pleasantly situated between the upper elevations of northern Alabama and the coastal lowlands to the south, Tuscaloosa is only a morning’s driver from both mountains and beaches. The climate is mild, with moderate rainfall.
Graduate Ambassador
If you would like to know more about UA and the surrounding community from a student's perspective, contact one of our Graduate Ambassadors (http://gradservice.aa.ua.edu/admin/programs.aspx?type=ambassadors).