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. The UAB Health System, one of the largest academic medical centers in the United States, is affiliated with the university. UAB is the state's largest employer, with more than 18,000 faculty and staff and over 53,000 jobs at the university and in the health system. An estimated 10 percent of the jobs in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area and 1 in 33 jobs in the state of Alabama are directly or indirectly related to UAB. Overall, the university's overall annual economic impact was estimated to be $4.6 billion annual impact in 2010.