Brigham Young University has announced that its new medical school has received accreditation and is now authorized to recruit an inaugural class of students and launch the Doctor of Medicine program beginning July of 2027.
BYU President C. Shane Reese made the announcement on Wednesday, Oct. 14, next to Dr. Mark J. Ott, the inaugural dean of the school of medicine, in front of an audience of faculty and staff and in a live video on BYU’s YouTube channel.
“I am absolutely thrilled to announce, alongside Dean Ott, who has worked tirelessly to get to this moment, that the BYU School of Medicine has received preliminary accreditation,” President Reese said.
He called it “a historic day for Brigham Young University” and thanked the hundreds of people working along the way to make it possible.
The medical school — announced in July 2024 by the First Presidency — is being built on the west side of the university’s Provo, Utah, campus, on the site of the old Provo High School building, near Intermountain Health’s Utah Valley Hospital.
During Wednesday’s livestream, President Reese also revealed a first look at the architecture of the new building, which Ott described as having a similar style to the Provo City Library and the Provo City Center Temple. The building is currently expected to be 275,000 square feet — similar to the newly opened BYU Arts Building.
“It will have all the modern learning features you would expect in order to provide a state-of-the-art medical experience,” Ott said. He also referred to the building as a “truly special temple of learning.”
This will be a centerpiece for the BYU campus, President Reese said. And Jesus Christ will be at the center of its teachings.
“Ultimately, the Brigham Young University School of Medicine is founded on the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and seeks to provide a spiritually grounded and scientifically rigorous education for future physicians who go forth to serve God’s children,” President Reese said.
Ott said BYU will welcome applications from prospective students in the next couple of weeks. Since the accreditation status is so new, the school needs to wait for certain systems like the American Medical College Application Service to be updated so that the students can apply through that portal. In the meantime, those who are interested can go to medicine.byu.edu and learn about the requirements and eligibility.
More about BYU’s medical school
In its July 2024 announcement, the First Presidency explained that the medical school will provide a “high-quality, spiritually based program that reinforces the mission of BYU and of the Church.”
The medical school will focus on teaching, training and research in areas of strategic importance to the Church, such as international health issues and the Church’s worldwide humanitarian efforts.
On Sept. 4, 2024, President Reese noted in a letter posted on BYU News that the new medical school will offer Doctor of Medicine degrees, or MDs.
He also explained that the new building will accommodate the classroom instruction and administrative needs of the medical school, while clinical training will occur in multiple off-site hospital locations.
“Jesus Christ healed the sick and served those in need. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we believe BYU’s medical school is another way to lift God’s children,” President Reese said.
Ott spoke about the goals for the medical school at a conference at BYU in April 2025. He said medical science and research are among the five key design elements set by the First Presidency, and BYU intends to be unique in the way it combines medical science and faith.
The five design elements are to:
- Be spiritually based and mission-focused.
- Have a teaching and research emphasis.
- Offer an integrated bachelor’s/medical degree to reduce time to complete medical training.
- Include international outreach, enrollment and alignment with church humanitarian efforts.
- Offer a reduced cost model.
“Those are the design principles that were given to us by the prophet and by the Lord himself,” Ott said.
In May 2025, Ott assured that “many deeply committed people are moving this work forward, directed by the vision put forward by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
