Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

Brigham Young University will now be home to a medical school, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday.

In a statement released Monday morning, the church said the school will have a major focus on “international health concerns” that impact its members and humanitarian efforts.

“Brigham Young University is committed to academic excellence in targeted graduate disciplines, traditionally focused on business and law,” the statement read. “The First Presidency is pleased to announce the decision now to create a medical school at BYU.”

Specifics of the school were not released, but the program will focus on “teaching with research in areas of strategic importance to the Church,” the release said. It added that the school will not include a hospital system, but a clinical partnership with Intermountain Health is in the works.

The University of Utah, which houses a medical school and hospital system, expressed its support for the new school in a statement, saying that U of U plans to seek to collaborate with BYU.

Courtesy Mark Philbrick, BYU

“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,” said U President Taylor Randall.

In the U’s statement, the school noted the high demand for medical training and education in Utah, saying that the school receives more than 2,000 applications for each medical school class with just 125 open spots.

The U’s Huntsman Cancer Institute currently is expanding into Utah County, adding a research campus in Vineyard.

Provo also is home to the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine and Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, which provide a handful of graduate medical programs.

Newsletter