Brigham Young University (Provo, UT)
Brigham Young University (Provo, UT)
Brigham Young University (BYU) is a private university is Provo, Utah, south of Salt Lake City. Established in 1875, BYU is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as the Mormons. With 34,000 students, the school is the largest religious university in the country, and the third-largest private university. BYU is named after the early Mormon leader, Brigham Young, who led his coreligionists on their westward trek in the 1840s, founding Salt Lake City and what is now the state of Utah.
BYU offers degrees in liberal arts, engineering, agriculture, management, and law. The university’s primary focus is on undergraduates, but it also operates 68 master’s and 25 doctoral programs. More than 98 percent of the student body is of the Mormon faith and the majority of them will take a two-year leave of absence during their time at BYU to complete a missionary trip.
Due to the religious nature of the campus and student body, students are required to adhere to an honor code that extends beyond academic integrity to matters of grooming and dressing and the strict observance of rules of moral behavior. BYU also prohibits drug use and the consumption of alcohol. U.S. News & World Report ranks BYU #75 on their list of Best Universities in the Country.
Brigham Young University is fully accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.