High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a doctoral, public research university covering 83 blocks in the heart of Alabama's largest city Birmingham, Alabama, USA. According to the 2009 Academic Ranking of World Universities,which takes into account the number of Nobel prizes and research quality of an institution, UAB is ranked among Top-100 universities in United States and among Top-200 universities in the world. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classifies UAB as an institution of RU/VH or "Very High Research Activity." UAB is the only University in the state of Alabama with the RU/VH rating and one of 96 universities in the nation with the highest designation. UAB is a vital economic engine of the state of Alabama with an estimated $3 Billion annual impact. UAB is currently the states largest employer with more than 18,000 faculty and staff and over 53,000 jobs at the university and in the health system. Almost 10% of the jobs in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area are related to UAB.