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Brigham Young University

All images used with permission from BYU. Copyright 2006

Originally established on October 16, 1875, as the Brigham Young Academy, Brigham Young University was founded on principles of combined spiritual and secular learning.

Brigham Young University is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon Church. BYU is part of a Mormon Church Educational System, which serves more than 1.2 million people worldwide, including students at BYU in Provo, Utah; BYU–Hawaii in Laie, Hawaii; BYU–Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho; and LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah. This education system also serves hundreds of thousands in continuing education and literacy programs, religious seminaries and institutes, and elementary and secondary schools in many countries, including Fiji, Mexico, New Zealand, Samoa, and Tonga.

Brigham Young University provides nationally recognized education in an atmosphere that upholds the moral standards of the Mormon Church, its sponsor.

BYU is recognized for extensive language programs, an academically minded and internationally experienced student body, talented performing arts ensembles, outstanding sports programs, quality teaching, and its beautiful mountain location. BYU is also known for being the number-one “stone-cold sober” school in the nation.

BYU alumni participation rates in donating to their alma mater far exceed national averages for universities. Donations are handled through LDS Philanthropies including donations of cash and property and online donations.

There are nearly 33,000 daytime-attending students during the fall and winter semesters at BYU in Provo. Over four percent are students over age 30, and 1.5% are under age 18. BYU students come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 115 countries. 33% are from the South Pacific, 28% are Latino, 4% are Black, 4% are American Indian, and 31% are other races. (Ethnicity is reported voluntarily; all statistics are from 2007.)

BYU full-time employees include approximately 1,300 instructional faculty, 88.4 percent of whom are tenured or on tenure track, and approximately 2,900 administrative and staff personnel. Part-time employees include approximately 900 faculty, administrative and staff personnel and 12,000 students.

BYU faculty members hold advanced degrees from respected academic institutions around the world. Many faculty members are fluent in at least one additional language, and many conduct research and creative works in countries other than the United States.

BYU's Mission Statement

"The mission of Brigham Young University--founded, supported, and guided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--is to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life. That assistance should provide a period of intensive learning in a stimulating setting where a commitment to excellence is expected and the full realization of human potential is pursued.

"All instruction, programs, and services at BYU, including a wide variety of extracurricular experiences, should make their own contribution toward the balanced development of the total person. Such a broadly prepared individual will not only be capable of meeting personal challenge and change but will also bring strength to others in the tasks of home and family life, social relationships, civic duty, and service to mankind.

"To succeed in this mission the university must provide an environment enlightened by living prophets and sustained by those moral virtues which characterize the life and teachings of the Son of God. In that environment these four major educational goals should prevail:

• All students at BYU should be taught the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Any education is inadequate which does not emphasize that His is the only name given under heaven whereby mankind can be saved. Certainly all relationships within the BYU community should reflect devout love of God and a loving, genuine concern for the welfare of our neighbor.
• Because the gospel encourages the pursuit of all truth, students at BYU should receive a broad university education. The arts, letters, and sciences provide the core of such an education, which will help students think clearly, communicate effectively, understand important ideas in their own cultural tradition as well as that of others, and establish clear standards of intellectual integrity.
• In addition to a strong general education, students should also receive instruction in the special fields of their choice. The university cannot provide programs in all possible areas of professional or vocational work, but in those it does provide the preparation must be excellent. Students who graduate from BYU should be capable of competing with the best in their fields.
• Scholarly research and creative endeavor among both faculty and students, including those in selected graduate programs of real consequence, are essential and will be encouraged.

"In meeting these objectives BYU's faculty, staff, students, and administrators should be anxious to make their service and scholarship available to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in furthering its work worldwide. In an era of limited enrollments, BYU can continue to expand its influence both by encouraging programs that are central to the Church's purposes and by making its resources available to the Church when called upon to do so.

"We believe the earnest pursuit of this institutional mission can have a strong effect on the course of higher education and will greatly enlarge Brigham Young University's influence in a world we wish to improve."

--Approved by the BYU Board of Trustees November 4, 1981

Rankings and Recognition

"The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reported that BYU is 10th in the nation in the number of graduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees.

"In its 2007 "America's Best Colleges" issue, U.S. News & World Report gave BYU high marks in several categories, ranking BYU 79th in the category of "Best National Universities" and 26th in the "Great Schools, Great Prices" category. BYU is also 16th for least student-incurred debt.

"The Marriott School of Management's undergraduate business programs have received acclaim from several sources. U.S. News ranked the undergraduate accounting program fifth, the undergraduate international business specialty 19th and the undergraduate management program 38th in the nation. Public Accounting Report in 2006 ranked BYU's undergraduate accounting program second in the nation. Business Week in 2008 ranked BYU undergraduate business programs seventh overall, first in the eyes of corporate recruiters, second overall (based on salary per tuition dollar) and first in return on tuition for private schools.

"The university has also performed well in graduate school rankings. The J. Reuben Clark Law School and the Marriott School of Management were ranked 44th and 41st, respectively, in the 2008 issue of U.S. News & World Report's "Best Graduate Schools." The magazine ranked BYU 72th among top graduate nursing programs, 77th among top graduate education programs and 87th among top graduate social work programs.

"In 2006, Business Week ranked the MBA program first in "time to payback," and The Princeton Review ranked the MBA program second in "most family-friendly." The Wall Street Journal rated the MBA program No. 1 among regional schools and also ranked the MBA program's ethics emphasis second, its accounting emphasis fourth and its corporate responsibility emphasis seventh. Public Accounting Report ranked the Master of Accountancy program second in the nation in 2006.

"The Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology programs have also received recognition. U.S. News & World Report ranked the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology 92nd overall, and in their "Best Graduate Schools" issue, ranked mechanical engineering specialties 65th." [1]

Who was Brigham Young?

External Links

• Karl G. Maeser:History of the Academy
• David O. McKay:The Church University
• Hugh B. Brown:An Eternal Quest--Freedom of the Mind
• Robert K. Thomas:Academic Responsibility
• Neal A. Maxwell:Discipleship and Scholarship
• Gordon B. Hinckley:Our Sacred Trust

BYU National Recognition

BYU was recognized in the 2005 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.” BYU received high marks from U.S. News & World Report in several categories, including being ranked in the second tier (74th) in the category of “Best National Universities,” 25th in “Great Schools at Great Prices” among national universities with doctoral programs, and ninth in the nation for least student-incurred debt. BYU's undergraduate accounting program was also ranked sixth and its undergraduate management program 38th in the nation.

BYU was ranked by Consumers Digest as the second-best value in American private education. The Princeton Review ranked BYU number one in the categories of having a "great college library" and being "stone-cold sober." BYU was also ranked sixth for "best quality of life" and seventh in "happiest students." In addition, the Institutional Research and Evaluation Inc. named BYU the safest campus in the nation for schools of its size.

BYU is ranked above the 90th percentile nationally in being supportive, academically challenging, and fostering active and collaborative learning as measured in the 2004 National Survey of Student Engagement among undergraduates. Additionally, this national survey shows that significantly more BYU undergraduates (86 percent) participate “very often” in activities to enhance their spirituality than do undergraduates nationally (18 percent). Furthermore, 74 percent of BYU undergraduates rate their overall education as being “excellent,” with the national rate standing at 33 percent.

Resource: Brigham Young University