Samford University is a private, coeducational, Christian university located in Homewood, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham.

In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College.

Samford University is the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.

Samford University is Alabama's top-ranked private university.

The university enrolls 5,471 students from 47 states and 29 countries.

Samford University has been nationally ranked for academic programs, value and affordability by Kiplinger's Personal Finance and The Princeton Review.

Birmingham is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Jefferson County.

The city's population was 212,237 in the 2010 United States Census.

The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of about 1,128,047 according to the 2010 Census, which is approximately one quarter of Alabama's population.

Private universities are not operated by governments, although many receive tax breaks, public student loans, and grants.

Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation.

This is in contrast to public universities and national universities.

Most private universities are non-profit organizations.

Undergraduate education is the post-secondary education previous to the postgraduate education.

It includes all the academic programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree.

For example, in the United States an entry level university student is known as an undergraduate, while students of higher degrees are known as graduates.

In some other educational systems and subjects, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a master's degree; this is the case for some science courses in Britain and some medicine courses in Europe.

Postgraduate education, or graduate education in North America, involves learning and studying for academic or professional degrees, academic or professional certificates, academic or professional diplomas, or other qualifications for which a first or bachelor's degree generally is required, and it is normally considered to be part of higher education.

In North America, this level is generally referred to as graduate school (or sometimes colloquially as grad school).