University of South Alabama
#"1201-1400"
QS Rank
74%
Acceptance rate
$17,952
Tuition/yr
15,000
Enrollment
About University of South Alabama
Public research university in Mobile, Alabama. Strong engineering, business, and education programs.
The University of South Alabama (South or USA) is a public research university founded in 1963 in Mobile, Alabama. It enrolls approximately 14,285 students across eight colleges offering more than 115 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs.
South is particularly recognised for its Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, which runs an MD programme with research concentrations in cardiovascular biology, molecular oncology, infectious disease, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering. The College of Engineering, Mitchell College of Business, School of Computing, and Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health are also strong draws for international students seeking career-aligned degrees.
Mobile is Alabama's only port city, with a lower cost of living than most US university towns. The campus is about 20 minutes from downtown Mobile and roughly 60 miles from Pensacola, Florida. Enrollment has grown for three consecutive years, with fall 2025 marking the largest freshman class in university history.
World University Rankings
Campus & Location
AL
Suburban
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
All graduates qualify for 12-month OPT. STEM-designated programs (CS, Engineering, Data Science, Mathematics, Sciences) qualify for 24-month STEM OPT extension — 36 months total work authorisation.
For Nepali students
- Tuition for 2025-2026 is estimated at roughly $17,952 per year in fees and tuition for undergraduates, lower than the US average for international students, and total annual costs including housing, insurance, and books are estimated at $30,913, making it one of the more affordable US public universities for Nepali families.
- Starting Fall 2026, South offers the Global Freshman Scholars Talent and Ability Scholarship, which grants in-state tuition status (a substantial fee reduction) for up to four years to international F-1 students who maintain a 3.0 GPA, a meaningful saving for students who meet the academic bar.
- Graduates on an F-1 visa are eligible for Optional Practical Training (OPT), 12 months standard or 36 months for STEM graduates in engineering, computing, and allied health fields, providing legal post-study work rights in the US without immediately requiring employer-sponsored sponsorship.
- The university's health sciences and engineering programmes align well with the most common fields Nepali students pursue in the US, and the smaller international student community (roughly 199 students on the QS count) means advisers can give more individual attention than at large flagship universities.
Admission requirements — Nepali equivalents
A rough translation of the published minimums for Nepali applicants:
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