Brigham Young University (BYU) – Utah

Overlooking the north part of campus including the bell tower and Wasatch Mountains in the background.

Brigham Young University (BYU) is located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. It is the third largest private university in the United States. BYU offers an education considered to be on par with Ivy League schools. The Mormons’ emphasis on missions has led to an emphasis on foreign languages, making BYU one of the most multilingual college universities worldwide.

BYU has two other locations: one in Salt Lake City, Utah (BYU Continuing Education Salt Lake Center for non-degree seeking students), and another in Jerusalem, Israel (Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies), as well as two sister schools – BYU Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho and BYU Hawaii in Laie, Hawaii. BYU offers Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral, and professional degrees.

Admissions Information

Those interested in attending BYU should submit the following admissions requirements: secondary school GPA, rank, and record; letters of recommendation; SAT/ACT scores; TOEFL; and a $30 application fee.

BYU has over 30,000 undergraduate students annually. Typically, 83 percent of freshmen return for sophomore year.

College Majors

BYU has considerable undergraduate and graduate options. You can choose from programs that range from physical sciences and agriculture to business, management, engineering, social sciences, and law.

Undergraduate Programs

BYU undergraduates can choose from any of the following programs:

• Agriculture & Related Sciences
• Area, Ethnic, Cultural & Gender Studies
• Arts – Visual and Performing
• Biological & Biomedical Sciences
• Business, Management, & Marketing
• Communications Technologies
• Computer & Information Sciences
• Education
• Engineering
• English Language & Literature
• Family & Consumer Sciences
• Foreign Language & Literature
• Health Professions & Clinical Sciences
• History
• Liberal Arts & Sciences
• Mathematics
• Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Natural Resources & Conservation
• Parks, Recreation & Fitness
• Philosophy & Religion
• Physical Sciences
• Psychology
• Public Administration & Services
• Social Sciences

The Eyring Science Center houses a planetarium, an anechoic chamber and a Foucault pendulum.

Graduate Programs

BYU offers 70 master’s degrees and 25 doctoral programs. Candidates can pursue a Master’s in: Agriculture; Biology and Biomedical Sciences; Business; Communication and Journalism; Business Administration; Management; and Marketing. Doctoral degrees are available in: Education; Engineering; Legal and Law Studies; Educational Inquiry, Measurement and Evaluation; Integrative Biology; and Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation.

BYU Online Degrees and Programs

If you find that the traditional full-time college schedule does not fit your lifestyle, then you might be interested in BYU online courses offered in the BYU Independent Study program or the BYU Online program. In both programs, teacher-led courses are interactive, allowing distance students to receive one-on-one mentoring. For those who prefer the more traditional method of earning an education, a student can choose the Paper Course, which consists of a printed course packet along with online access.

BYU Online Program

On-campus enrolled BYU students can take some college courses online through a semester-based program, known as BYU Online. Some courses in the program are completely online, while others are a hybrid and require varying degrees of on-campus attendance. Courses in the BYU Online program start at the beginning of the semester and have several due dates throughout the semester to help you complete coursework on time. TA support is available to those enrolled in BYU Online courses.

Learn more and sign up for BYU Online courses here.

BYU Independent Study Program

Independent Study – High School Credit: From accounting, mathematics, and theater and media arts, there are over 500 courses offered in the BYU Independent Study program. These BYU online courses are available worldwide to high school and college students as well as anyone who wants to learn something new.

Independent Study – Bachelor’s Program: BYU Independent Study also offers a Bachelor of General Studies program, which allows former BYU students the ability to finish their college degree if they started at the university. Unfortunately, the only major is general studies, but students can specialize in any of the following six areas of study:

• American Studies
• English
• Family Life
• History (Family History Track)
• History (History Track)
• Management
• Psychology

Learn more about BYU Independent Study, here.

BYU Online vs. BYU Independent Study

BYU Online courses differ from those offered in the BYU Independent Study program in that they follow a semester schedule and have class limits, while Independent Study courses allow up to a year for completion and have no enrollment caps. Another key difference is that BYU Online courses are included in BYU tuition if you are going to school full- or part-time, while Independent Study courses charge a separate cost.

Rankings

According to U.S. News & World Report, BYU was ranked #1 in 2010 for accepted students who enrolled. The Wall Street Journal ranked BYU’s accounting program as #1 according to recruiters. The Bloomberg Business Week ranked BYU as #1 return on tuition for private schools in the area of business.

Accreditation

BYU is accredited by the NWCCU (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities). Certain BYU professional programs have accreditation from specific associations and boards.

Departments, Colleges, and Schools

BYU offers vast educational options through its eleven academic colleges and schools:

• Marriott School of Business
• David O. McKay School of Education
• J. Reuben Clark Law School
• Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology
• College of Family, Home and Social Sciences
• College of Fine Arts and Communications
• College of Humanities
• College of Life Sciences
• College of Nursing
• College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• College of Religious Education

Further resources are provided through the following departments:

• Continuing Education
• Graduate Studies
• David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies
• Undergraduate Education

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Tuition is relatively inexpensive when compared to other private universities. Students who qualify can take advantage of federal or Pell grants. Scholarships, federal loans, and other student loans are also readily available.

The Harold B. Lee Library is consistently ranked among the top ten in the nation, with a No. 1 ranking in 2004 by The Princeton Review.

Library System

The Harold B. Lee Library is BYU’s house of information. The home page of the library lists extensive materials available, such as eBooks, journals, maps & gazetteers, online databases and music scores. If a particular source or book cannot be found in the Harold B Lee Library, the interlibrary loan system allows a student to request that particular item from a participating library. The library also provides various other services, such as graduate assistants on theses and dissertations, library instruction classes, and family history classes. Students can reserve a study room; computer and multimedia labs are also available.

Athletics

BYU has both intramural and extramural sports. The men’s sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. The women’s sports are basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. BYU competes at the Division I level in the NCAA. BYU’s athletes are known as the Cougars and have won a combined 10 NCAA titles. BYU’s football team won a national championship title in 1984. 75 Cougar athletes have gone on to participate in the Olympics in 12 different sports.

Student Housing

BYU offers on-campus housing. Helaman Halls provides the more traditional room and board accommodations. Students living in Helaman Halls choose one of three meal plans, since rooms do not include a full kitchen. Heritage Halls offers apartment-style living for students. Students living in these types of quarters can choose between meal plans or doing home cooking. Wyview Park is another on-campus housing that is apartment-style. These apartments are completely furnished, and the rental payments include all utilities with the exception of electricity. The Foreign Language Student Residence is a unique living opportunity for those working towards learning a foreign language. The Wymount Terrace provides housing for students with families.