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Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is sponsored by the Mormon Church

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]

The Princeton Review gave BYU several awards, announced in the fall of 2009 for business and law schools. Not surprising was first place for family-friendly graduate schools.

While the highest family friendly ranking is not a shock -- it's the fourth time the school has received the honor since 2006 -- People were a bit surprised by the competitive rank, listing BYU's MBA students as the third most competitive. BYU also ranked with Princeton as having the fifth best professors across business academe. Bigger schools on the East Coast captured most of the other top 10 rankings. Students who have attended BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School ranked the school fairly closely on having the most conservative, yet also the most competitive students. On average, 100 students at each law school and 65 students at each business school were surveyed for the lists in the 2010 editions of the books. The results of the 80-question survey, which asks students about their school's academics, student body and campus life, themselves, and their career plans, is available online at princetonreview.com.

BYU's animation department ranks third in the country and works hand in hand with Pixar and other Hollywood companies. "Now, the (BYU animation) program is successful enough that...the studios know who they want to hire and when they're available," said R. Brent Adams, director of BYU's Center for Animation. "As soon as they are, whether it's December or April, bang, they're gone."

Who was Brigham Young?

External Links

• See also MormonFAQ.com
• 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 PR department one of five best in the U.S.
• BYU the nation's "most popular" school
• BYU seventh in nation for grads who go on for PhD's