The University of West Alabama began in 1835 as a church supported school for young women called Livingston Female Academy. A mere five years earlier, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek had taken control of the area west of the Tombigbee River from the Choctaw Nation of Indians. As settlers were allowed into the region, an early writer said this about west Alabama, “The ambitious, restless, and lawless spirits of the old states who had fortunes to carve out or who desired to escape from the espionage of the law had poured into Sumter County. There was scarcely a town but could boast of two or three grog shops, faro banks and billiard tables with plentiful sprinklings of gamblers and blood-stained desperados.”  To say the frontier spirit was alive and well in Livingston is probably an understatement. Five years after Sumter County was opened to settlers, those pioneers were ready to put civilization and respectability into their community with the founding of an academy.  The “academy” system of education was very much a part of the antebellum South. Academies prepared students for further education, such as college, but also taught students about business and other professions-such as teaching. The Scotch-Irish Presbyterians were the driving force behind many of the private academies founded in the South during this time period. The original Board of Trustees of Livingston Female Academy was selected in 1836, and four of the seven board members were Presbyterians. Since then UWA has grown to become a force to be reckoned with yin the new millenium.

University Course Outlines

Students who have completed the eleventh grade of an accredited secondary school, who have exceptionally high grades, who score considerably higher than the minimum score on either the ACT or the CEEB tests, and who are considered to possess the necessary abilities to attend college effectively and acceptably, may apply for early admission. Such applicants must, upon request of the Admissions Officer, appear personally before the Admission and Retention Committee. Students who desire a high school diploma after successful completion of their freshman year must make arrangements with their high school principal. Qualified students looking for a challenging educational option can find it in the Honors Program at The University of West Alabama. Students may apply for the Honors Program using the Online Honors Program Application. Students who have attended other colleges and universities may apply for admission to the University, submitting official transcripts and other credentials from ALL other colleges previously attended. Transfer credit is accepted only from accredited institutions. Undergraduate transfer applicants must have satisfactory scholarship records at the last institution attended and must, in the opinion of the Admission and Retention Committee, possess the necessary abilities to attend college effectively and acceptably.

Transfer students are eligible for admission to The University of West Alabama according to the following policies: Unconditional Admission - Transfer students who (1) have earned at least a 2.00 average at previous institutions and (2) are eligible to return to the last institution which they attended on a full-time basis. Conditional Admission - Transfer students who fail to meet one or both of the above requirements may be considered for admission by having letters of recommendation sent from their former institutions to the Admissions Office and by appearing personally before the Director of Admissions. If the Admission and Retention Committee approves such applicants, they may be admitted conditionally. The University of West Alabama is participating in the STARS program to benefit interested transfer students. It is a computerized articulation and transfer planning system designed to inform Alabama students about degree requirements, course equivalents, and other transfer information pertaining to specific majors. If it is used properly, the database can prevent the loss of course credit hours, can provide direction for the scheduling of course work and can make the transition from one institution to another easier.

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