Brigham Young University

This article is about Brigham Young University. For the German airport, see Bindlacher Berg Airport

Academics

BYU offers bachelor’s degrees in 198 academic programs, master’s degrees in 69, doctorates in 27 and a juris doctor. The university is organized into 11 colleges.

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BYU consistently receives national recognition for its strong undergraduate and graduate programs. U.S. News & World Report ranks BYU's Marriott School of Management and the J. Reuben Clark Law School in the top 40 in the country.

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In the July 2002 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, BYU was recognized as the best in the nation at turning research dollars into inventions and new companies. Some notable inventions originating at BYU include a drug for treating a rare form of leukemia, water modeling software, and the modern word-processor. Philo T. Farnsworth developed some of his ideas for the creation of the television while attending BYU. Harvey Fletcher, a BYU alumnus, went on to carry out the now famous oil-drop experiment with Robert Millikan, and was later Founding Dean of the BYU College of Engineering.

Related Topics:
July 2002 - Chronicle of Higher Education - Philo T. Farnsworth - Harvey Fletcher - Oil-drop experiment - Robert Millikan

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BYU's Harold B. Lee Library, which in 2004 the Princeton Review ranked as the #1 "Great College Library", has more than 6 million items in its collections, contains 98 miles of shelving, and can seat 4,600 people.

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Accounting

BYU has a highly ranked accounting program, and many accounting students find themselves working for some of the most prestigious accounting firms in the country upon graduation. In 2005, the School of Accounting was ranked third in the nation among collegiate accounting programs.

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Study abroad program

BYU runs the largest study-abroad program in the United States, with satellite centers in London, Jerusalem, and Paris, as well as more than 20 other sites. The Institute of International Education ranks BYU as the number one university in the US to offer students study abroad opportunities; nearly 2,000 students take advantage of these programs yearly. One of BYU's mottos is "The World is Our Campus".

Related Topics:
London - Jerusalem - Paris - Institute of International Education

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(The BYU Jerusalem Center closed indefinitely in 2002 due to safety concerns related to the Second Intifada.)

Related Topics:
BYU Jerusalem Center - Second Intifada

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Language program

Seventy-five percent of the men and twelve percent of the women at BYU have served as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with roughly half serving in non-English speaking regions. Seventy-two percent of the student body speaks a second language, and many faculty are fluent in at least one language other than English. The church's Missionary Training Center (MTC) is located just north of the main BYU campus, and is known for its intensive language-training program for new missionaries. Most of the language instructors at the MTC are BYU students who recently returned from missions themselves.

Related Topics:
Missionaries - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - English - Missionary Training Center

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During any given semester, roughly twenty-five percent of the student body may be enrolled in language courses—a rate three times the national average. BYU is renowned for its breadth and depth of foreign language and linguistic training, offering courses in 74 different languages, many with advanced courses which are seldom offered elsewhere. Using an instant-immersion approach developed in the church's Missionary Training Center, students are typically said to be fluent (testing at an Advanced level) after four semesters of the intensive, daily courses. The multi-lingual student body proved to be a valuable resource for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

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BYU also offers an intensive living experience for those students who wish to master a second language. The Foreign Language Student Residence is an on-campus apartment complex where students are immersed in one of nine languages, be it French, Spanish, Japanese, or otherwise. No English is spoken in the apartment as they perfect their abilities (with the help of a foreign roommate) to communicate in their acquired tongue.

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Foreign film program

BYU's International Cinema is the largest and longest-running foreign film program in the country, showing 20 screenings per week to roughly 1,000 people. Its main purpose is to supplement the curriculum of the College of Humanities and the Honors Program with culturally and linguistically diverse films.

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Independent study program

BYU's Department of Independent Study is accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS), the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), and the Commission on International and Transregional Accreditation (CITA). The department offers courses to nearly 500,000 students every year, many to students in countries outside the United States.

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Dance performance and DanceSport programs

The BYU Ballroom Dance Company is known as one of the best formation ballroom dance teams in the world. The NDCA National DanceSport championships have been held at BYU for many years, and BYU holds dozens of ballroom dance classes each semester, totalling thousands of students per semester, making it by far the largest ballroom dance program in the US.

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Sports programs

From the late 1970s until the mid-1990s, BYU had an outstanding football program. In 1984, BYU's football team went undefeated to become the NCAA Division I-A national football champions. This was the first and only time that BYU has won the football national championship. They became champs by beating Michigan in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, marking the first time that a number-one ranked college football team did not play in a New Year's Day bowl game. Some like NBC's Bryant Gumbel and Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer criticized BYU for having a weak schedule in 1984. It didn't matter however, since BYU was undefeated and they had attained the number one ranking in the AP, UPI, and other polls.

Related Topics:
1984 - Football - NCAA Division I-A national football champions - Michigan - Holiday Bowl - Bryant Gumbel - Oklahoma - Barry Switzer

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In 1990, quarterback Ty Detmer won college football's most prestigious individual award, the Heisman Trophy. Detmer is the only BYU football player ever to win the award. During the 1990 season, BYU defeated the number-one ranked Miami Hurricanes in Provo. Detmer passed for 5,188 yards and 41 touchdowns during this season.

Related Topics:
Ty Detmer - Heisman Trophy - Miami Hurricanes

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The head football coach during BYU's football glory years was LaVell Edwards. Edwards is a legend among college football coaches, winning 257 games over a span of 29 years. Only five other head coaches have won more games. He was twice awarded with coach of the year awards (in 1979 and in 1984). Edwards' last season as head coach was in 2000; upon his retirement, BYU renamed its football venue from Cougar Stadium to LaVell Edwards Stadium in his honor. (Sources:http://www.byucougars.com/football/history/honors.html; http://web.ksl.com/TV/byufb/01year.htm).

Related Topics:
LaVell Edwards - 1979 - 1984 - 2000 - LaVell Edwards Stadium

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During BYU's football glory days, the school colors were bright royal blue and white. At the beginning of the 1999 season, the school colors got a makeover, switching to dark blue and tan.

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The BYU women's cross-country team won the NCAA National Championship in 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2002. BYU has also won NCAA National Championships in golf, track, and men's volleyball (3 times: in 1999, 2001, and 2004). The school colors are dark blue and white. Its mascot is Cosmo the Cougar and its primary conference is the Mountain West Conference. Its men's volleyball team plays in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. BYU's men's soccer club participates as a university-owned franchise in the United Soccer Leagues' Premier Development League.

Related Topics:
NCAA National Championship - 1997 - 1999 - 2001 - 2002 - Golf - Track - Volleyball - Cosmo the Cougar - Mountain West Conference - Mountain Pacific Sports Federation - United Soccer Leagues - Premier Development League

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BYU also has a strong intramural sports program, offering more than 30 sports and involving more than 10,000 participants each year.

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