Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) is a four-year, private, liberal arts institution located three miles west of downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Affiliated with United Methodist Church, BSC provides quality education in liberal arts. Birmingham-Southern traces its history back to 1856, when Southern University was established in Greensboro by the Methodist Conference. Later in 1897, the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church laid the foundation for a new college in Birmingham. In the following year, the North Alabama Conference College, which was later called Birmingham College, opened its doors to students. On May 30, 1918, the two institutions consolidated to form the Birmingham-Southern College. Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, BSC offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, science, fine arts, music, and music education; and master of arts degrees in public and private management and in music. In addition, the curriculum includes such special programs as graduate studies, honors, leadership studies, air force and army ROTC, British studies at oxford, and dual degrees in engineering, environmental studies, and nursing. Birmingham-Southern College stands on a 192-acre wooded campus in Alabama. N.E. Miles Library, at the Charles Andrew Rush Learning Center, has an exceptional collection of more than 257,000 volumes, as well as government documents, subscriptions, and video and audiovisual packets. The large college theater comes with a split, revolve-lift stage. Just south of the theater, lies the venue for visual arts programs at the Kennedy Art Center. Other attractions on campus include Azar Art Studios, a 1,500-square-foot Durbin Gallery, Robert R. Meyer Planetarium, Yeilding Chapel, and Edwards Bell Tower. For 10 consecutive years, BSU has been ranked among the nation’s top National Liberal Arts College by U.S. News & World Report. In 1987, it was honored as the number one Regional Liberal Arts College in the South Region, and in the next year, it was promoted to the liberal arts college, Bachelor’s category, which is the top category a liberal arts institution can attain in the magazine’s annual rankings.