Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University (often referred to as BYU or, colloquially, The Y) is a private research university located in Provo, Utah, United States. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and, excluding online students, is the largest of any religious university and the 3rd largest private university in the United States, with 29,672 on-campus students. BYU does not currently publish online enrollment statistics, but BYU's Independent Study programs are offered worldwide, including being available in Family History Centers the LDS Church maintains in 134 countries. Approximately 99 percent of the university's 30,000 students are members of the LDS Church, and one-third of its American students come from within the state of Utah. Students attending BYU are required to follow an honor code, which mandates behavior in line with LDS teachings such as academic honesty, adherence to dress and grooming standards, and abstinence from extramarital sex and from the consumption of drugs and alcohol. Many students (87 percent of men, 19 percent of women) take a two-year hiatus from their studies at some point to serve as Mormon missionaries. An education at BYU is also less expensive than at similar private universities, since "a significant portion" of the cost of operating the university is subsidized by the church's tithing funds. BYU offers programs in liberal arts, engineering, agriculture, management, and law. The university is broadly organized into 11 colleges or schools at its main Provo campus, with certain colleges and divisions defining their own admission standards. The university also administers two satellite campuses, one in Jerusalem and one in Salt Lake City, while its parent organization, the Church Educational System (CES), sponsors sister schools in Hawaii and Idaho. The university's primary focus is on undergraduate education, but it also has 68 master's and 25 doctoral degree programs. BYU's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the BYU Cougars. Their college football team is an NCAA Division I Independent, while their other sports teams compete in either the West Coast Conference or Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. BYU's sports teams have won a total of fourteen national championships.