Auburn University, USA

Sited in the dixie state of Alabama, AU offers 150 bachelor’s, 120 Masters and 96 doctoral programmes to 24,864 students including 1,089 foreign students from 80 countries

Founded as a liberal arts college in 1856, Auburn University (AU) is consistently ranked among the Top 50 public universities in the US. The US News and World Report ranks AU #48 in its Best Public Schools Rankings 2015 while Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranks it among the Top 100 Best Value Public Colleges. Sited in the southern state of Alabama, AU offers 150 bachelor’s, 130 Masters and 96 doctoral programmes across its 13 colleges — agriculture; architecture, design and construction; business; education; engineering; forestry and wildlife sciences; human sciences; liberal arts; nursing; pharmacy; sciences and mathematics and veterinary medicine — to 24,864 students, including 1,089 foreign students from 80 countries worldwide.

Sprawled across 1,843 acres in the eponymous city, Auburn U is particularly well-reputed for its academic programmes in architecture, pharmacy, veterinary science, engineering, forestry, and business. For example, Design Intelligence in its 2013 edition of America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools ranked Auburn’s undergraduate architecture programme #9 and industrial design school #6 nationally.

AU traces its origins to the East Alabama Male College founded in 1856, 20 years after the city of Auburn was granted a civic charter. In 1872 under the Morrill Act, the institution became the first land-grant college in the South and was renamed the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama and later the Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1899. Finally in 1960, the institute’s name was changed to Auburn University.

Auburn. Sited on the scenic plains of eastern Alabama, 80 km east of the state’s administrative capital Montgomery, Auburn (pop.58,582) is ranked among the ‘10 Best Places to Live’ by the US News and World Report and #17 in the Forbes list of ‘Best Small Places for Business and Careers’. One of the fastest growing metropolitan areas of Alabama, the city offers excellent recreational facilities and low crime rates. The downtown area, with restaurants and shops, is within walking distance of the campus. Other attractions include a 16-screen movie theatre, shopping mall and 90 holes of golf. A few miles from campus, Chewacla State Park offers 696 acres of hiking and camping facilities. The city lights of Birmingham (177 km) and Columbus, Georgia (56 km) are within comfortable driving distance and the Gulf Coast of Florida is four hours by road.

Auburn enjoys a warm and sunny climate with mild winters. Winter temperatures range from 2o-13oC and summer 20o-32oC.

Campus facilities. The university’s 1,843-acre campus hosts 427 including 206 academic buildings. A land, sea and space grant university, AU is acknowledged as one of the largest universities in dixie (southern) USA. The AU libraries comprising the main Ralph Brown Draughon and Charles Cary Veterinary Medical and Architecture, Design and Construction libraries together host over 3.2 million volumes, 2.6 million government documents, 2.5 million microforms, 148,000 maps, 227 electronic databases, 10 million archival and manuscript items and subscribe to over 35,000 journals. 

Sports facilities are state-of-the-art and extensive in the tradition of American varsities. The 240,000-sq.ft Recreation and Wellness Centre, inaugurated in 2013, offers a 1/3 mile indoor track, a virtual golf simulator, zip-line, three rock climbing walls, basketball and racquetball courts, group fitness classes, a 40-person hot tub, and leisure pool. Outdoor facilities include 14 tennis and sand volleyball courts, two athletics tracks, and a football field.

Moreover, students have many opportunities to participate in social and cultural activities. There are more than 400 student organisations on campus ranging from foreign language fraternities to community service clubs. The Students Union hosts over 100 special events annually including concerts, lectures, and plays.

Admission. Admission into Auburn University’s undergraduate programmes is competitive with students assessed on the basis of academic and extra-curricular achievements. The minimum eligibility requirements for undergrad admission are Plus Two (“excellent academic record”) and English language proficiency. In addition, applicants must submit ACT/SAT and TOEFL scores together with official academic records and transcripts and proof of financial support. AU also requires all foreign applicants to have their transcripts evaluated by an independent credentials evaluator (World Education Services, Educational Credential Evaluators, etc). Applications are invited online (www.auburn.edu) together with a fee of $60 before January 15 for admission into term beginning September.

For further information contact International Admissions, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, The Quad Center, Auburn University, AL 36849. Tel: +1 334-844-6425; Fax: 334-844-6436; e-mail: admissions@auburn.edu; website: www.auburn.edu.

Accommodation. AU offers accommodation in five housing neighbourhoods — The Hill, Quad, Village, Cambridge and S. Donahue — comprising 32 halls of residence. Sited within walking distance of academic buildings, they offer laundry services, dining facilities and internet access. For those opting to live off-campus, the office of housing and residence helps with private accommodation rentals.

Degree programmes. The university’s 13 colleges and schools offer over 140 undergraduate, postgrad and professional degree programmes (see box).

Shweta Nair