The BYU School of Medicine will be built on the site of the old Provo High School, 1125 N. University Ave., the university announced Monday in a news release.
The announcement was made after approval for the decision was provided by the BYU Board of Trustees.
BYU bought the high school site in 2016 for $25 million. That site, now called West Campus, has been used to house the College of Fine Arts and Communications since BYU tore down the Harris Fine Arts Center.
A new fine arts building is expected to be completed next year.
The decision to build the medical school on BYU’s West Campus ensures that faculty and staff will be located close to Utah Valley Hospital, an Intermountain Health facility.
Intermountain Health is providing BYU with significant resources to plan the new medical school, and the university’s news release Monday noted that the health care organization will provide important clinical training for its medical students.
Some of that training will take place at Utah Valley Hospital.
“Since its announcement, the BYU School of Medicine has received tremendous interest,” BYU President C. Shane Reese said in the news release. “We appreciate the enthusiasm and support for the BYU School of Medicine from people and organizations across the world.”
Dr. Mark J. Ott, the inaugural dean of the the BYU School of Medicine, has said there is international interest in helping the university build out the school.
He has created a Medicine Advisory Council and 15 working groups made up of volunteers who are helping BYU make decisions that range from determining the medical school’s curriculum to accreditation.
“Many deeply committed people are moving this work forward, directed by the vision put forward by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” he said in the news release.
The planning and construction of BYU’s medical building will not interfere with the operations of fine arts and communications students, faculty and staff, according to Monday’s news release.
They will remain at the former Provo High School until the new BYU Arts Building is completed.
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which sponsors BYU, announced plans for the BYU School of Medicine on July 29, 2024.
Church leaders have said that the BYU School of Medicine will emphasize training, research and international health issues while supporting the church’s global humanitarian efforts.
Dr. Ott has said that BYU’s goal is to submit its application for accreditation by August, which would make it possible to open the doors to students in fall 2027, possibly in a temporary location while the medical building is under construction.
The BYU School of Medicine will offer a Doctor of Medicine degree (MD), Reese said in September 2024.
“BYU’s future medical school will provide a high quality, spiritually based program that reinforces the mission of BYU and the church,” Reese said in Monday’s news release. “While the work of developing curriculum takes time, Dean Ott and the team are exploring innovative approaches aimed at reducing graduation times and costs for students.”
BYU is also creating clinical relationships with the University of Utah and other health care organizations to provide additional sites for students to gain clinical experience.
