'A historic day': Brigham Young University School of Medicine earns national accreditation

PROVO — The Brigham Young University School of Medicine has officially received accreditation, President Shane Reese announced Wednesday.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education — a national accrediting body for medical doctorate programs in the U.S. and Canada — voted during its October 2026 meeting to grant the school accreditation.

Accreditation marks a crucial step in the university's multi-year effort to establish its own medical school, a venture first announced by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in July 2024.

With this status, the BYU School of Medicine is now authorized to recruit an inaugural class and launch the M.D. program, which will begin in July 2027.

"It is indeed a historic day for Brigham Young University," Reese said.

The medical school building will be located on the corner of University Avenue and Cougar Blvd.

Dr. Mark Ott, BYU School of Medicine's inaugural dean, said the building will be a "truly special temple of learning."

Its design was intentional, with Ott adding that the architecture echoes the craftsmanship of early Utah communities and religious architecture in Provo, notably the Provo City Center Library and the Provo City Center Temple, formerly the Provo Tabernacle.

But it's not just a pretty sight.

"It will have all the modern learning features you'd expect in order to provide a state-of-the-art medical education experience," Dr. Ott said.

Construction on the school's headquarters will begin in 2027. The school's temporary location will be on BYU West Campus, the site of the former Provo High School. Ott said renovations to the temporary space are already underway.

Ott added that the university will start accepting applications from prospective students sometime "in the next couple of weeks."

In the meantime, anyone interested can visit medicine.byu.edu to learn more about requirements, eligibility and more.

This story will be updated.

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