FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

The BYU School of Medicine was established to educate students who will combine scientific excellence with Christ-centered service. The school seeks to address physician workforce needs, improve access to care for underserved populations, support the Church’s humanitarian efforts, and prepare graduates who will alleviate human suffering throughout the world. The school was announced by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in July 2024.

The BYU School of Medicine is founded on the teachings and example of Jesus Christ, the Master Healer, and guided by the doctrine and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We provide a spiritually grounded and scientifically rigorous education for physicians who will minister to God’s children throughout the world as healers, teachers, researchers, leaders, and disciples of Jesus Christ. We approach the practice of medicine as an opportunity to prevent and alleviate human suffering and to care for all people as fellow children of a loving God.

Graduates from the BYU School of Medicine will earn a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) will allow the BYU School of Medicine to matriculate an inaugural class of up to 60 students. The school will evaluate future growth based on educational outcomes, faculty capacity, facilities, clinical training opportunities, and accreditation guidance.

The BYU School of Medicine will educate students in a renovated space on BYU's West Campus that was part of the former Provo High School. Together with additional facilities supporting the school's operations, the interim space includes anatomy and simulation laboratories, research collaboration and faculty mentoring areas, team-based learning classrooms, and dedicated areas for student support, offering an exceptional environment for medical education from day one.

The future building for the BYU School of Medicine will also be located on BYU's West Campus. Construction is expected to begin in 2027.

Facilities

The BYU School of Medicine curriculum is designed to shape both exceptional physicians and compassionate disciples of Jesus Christ. Through a combination of foundational science education, early clinical experiences, longitudinal coursework in Global Clinical Medicine and Global Health and Research, and advanced clinical and immersion training, students are prepared to serve individuals and communities throughout the world.

Curriculum

BYU School of Medicine students will gain real-world experience in clinical environments early in their educational experience. Students will have an opportunity to provide service at a free primary care clinic during their first year and will begin their required clerkships at the beginning of their second year.

Intermountain Health serves as the school's primary clinical affiliate. Students will learn in a variety of inpatient, outpatient, community, and specialty settings throughout Utah and the surrounding area. The school also maintains relationships with additional healthcare organizations to support comprehensive clinical training.

Clinical Affiliates

All students will learn foundational research principles and will join a research team in an area of interest beginning in their first year. The school's research efforts are focused on improving health outcomes among underserved populations. Priority areas include maternal and child health, sustainable health systems and sustainable surgery, non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, and other humanitarian health initiatives.

Research

Global health is an important part of the BYU School of Medicine's mission and curriculum. Students will participate in an immersive global health and research experience and may work with communities both within the United States and internationally. Our mission is founded on the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and is rooted in a desire to minister to others with compassion. Our focus includes aligning research with global health priorities identified by the Church’s humanitarian efforts, including: maternal, newborn, and child health; sustainable surgery and health systems; non-communicable diseases; and infectious diseases. We will also pursue other areas of research that provide optimal student research experiences.

Global Impact

The BYU School of Medicine has developed comprehensive student support programs that include academic advising, career advising, mental health counseling, wellness services, learning communities, and faculty mentorship to support students throughout medical school. Each learning community of 20 students will have a mentor couple to help support students and their families throughout their medical school journey.

Student Support Services

Accreditation

Preliminary accreditation, our current stage on the path, represents a significant milestone in the multistage LCME accreditation process. The first stage of the process is applicant status, achieved by the BYU School of Medicine in November 2024. The second stage of the process is candidate status, achieved in October 2025. The LCME subsequently conducted a survey visit in June 2026 and granted preliminary accreditation status in October 2026, allowing the school to recruit its inaugural class of students and launch the MD program in July 2027.

After preliminary accreditation, the remaining stages are provisional accreditation—considered following the school’s implementation of the pre-clerkship curriculum with the inaugural class of students—and full accreditation—considered near the conclusion of the clinical training of the inaugural class. Each accreditation review includes the school’s submission of updated information, an on-site visit by peer evaluators, and a final evaluation and determination by the LCME. Additional information is available in the LCME Accreditation Process Overview.

Preliminary accreditation is an official LCME accreditation status (i.e., it is not a pre-accreditation or unaccredited status). The LCME identifies developing programs with preliminary accreditation as accredited and states that students in programs with preliminary or provisional accreditation have the same rights and privileges to take national licensing examinations and enter accredited graduate medical education as students in fully accredited programs. Accordingly, students enrolled in the BYU MD program are eligible, subject to the standard requirements applicable to all examinees, to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination, including Step 1 and Step 2 CK.

Students enrolled in an LCME-accredited medical school are eligible to participate in the NRMP residency application and match processes when they meet their school’s graduation requirements and other applicable eligibility requirements. Graduation from an LCME-accredited medical education program fulfills the medical education requirement used by most state medical boards, although every physician must also meet the examination, postgraduate-training, and other requirements established by the state in which licensure is sought.

Students may also be eligible for federal and other forms of financial aid, subject to applicable individual eligibility requirements.