High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System. UAB offers some 140 programs of study through 12 academic divisions leading to various bachelor`s, master`s, doctoral and professional degrees.