The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that a new medical school will be created at Brigham Young University.
The full statement first published on ChurchofJesusChrist.org reads as follows:
“Brigham Young University is committed to academic excellence in targeted graduate disciplines, traditionally focused on business and law. The First Presidency is pleased to announce the decision now to create a medical school at BYU. A major focus will be on international health issues affecting members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Church’s worldwide humanitarian efforts.
“Plans for this medical school are underway, and specific target dates will be announced as they are set. It is envisioned that unlike many medical schools, the BYU medical school will be focused on teaching with research in areas of strategic importance to the Church. In time the school will draw students from within and outside the United States.
“The BYU medical school will not create its own hospital or hospital system. BYU and Intermountain Health are discussing a mutually beneficial clinical relationship. Also, it is anticipated that the medical school will seek collaborative relationships with various entities in Utah, including the University of Utah.”
More information about the medical school will be coming, said BYU President C. Shane Reese in an Instagram story.
“A planning team is being established to work on this initiative and more information will be shared as plans develop,” he wrote. “This is an exciting day for the BYU community.”
About BYU
The mission of Brigham Young University — which was founded and is supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life.
Founded in 1875 by Church President Brigham Young, the main campus sits on roughly 740 acres and is home to more than 35,000 students who come from 105 countries and all 50 U.S. states. In April 2024, BYU conferred 7,198 degrees — 283 doctoral degrees, 1,095 masters degrees and 5,820 bachelor’s degrees.
BYU graduate programs shine in annual U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings. BYU Law came in at No. 22 among all law schools in the 2023–2024 rankings, and the Marriott School of Business was ranked No. 35 among MBA programs. BYU comes in at No. 20 overall in the 2024 Best Colleges in America rankings from The Wall Street Journal.
Less than a year ago, as President Reese was inaugurated as the university’s 14th president, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, chairman of the executive committee of the BYU board of trustees, charged President Reese to help the university become “what prophets past and present have foreseen it would become.”
During his inaugural response, President Reese said he is awed by the prophetic guidance given to this university by latter-day prophets. Church President Spencer W. Kimball articulated “a powerful roadmap” for the future of BYU, calling it “the greatest institution of learning in all the world.”
More recently, then-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and past president of BYU taught that BYU will realize President Kimball’s vision “only to the degree it embraces its uniqueness, its singularity” and be a teaching institution “that is unequivocally true to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Working together with the U’s medical school
The University of Utah plans to actively pursue collaboration opportunities with the Church and BYU in medical education and clinical care, explained a statement from the U.
University President Taylor Randall said, “With a new medical school in the state, the U and BYU can strive to meet existing and future health care professional shortages, provide more opportunities for aspiring medical providers and contribute to the health care needs of patients in our region and around the globe.”
Michael Good, senior vice president for Health Sciences, spoke as well about the good that will come from collaboration: “We look forward to working together to accelerate our collective societal impact.”
— Rachel Sterzer Gibson contributed to this report.
This story was updated on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.
