University in United States
Salt Lake City, UT, United States
University profile
The University of Utah (the U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, founded on February 28, 1850 as the University of Deseret. It describes itself as the state's flagship institution of higher education and the home of Utah's only academic medical center. The university is a member of the Association of American Universities (since 2019) and is classified by the Carnegie Foundation among research universities with the highest research activity.
The main campus covers 1,534 acres on the east bench of the Salt Lake Valley, at 4,738 feet elevation, beneath the Wasatch Mountains and about 10 miles from the airport. The university also operates the U Asia Campus in Songdo, Incheon, South Korea. Fall 2025 enrolment was 38,261 students: 29,335 undergraduates and 8,926 graduate students, drawn from 47 states and 41 countries. The student-to-faculty ratio is 19:1 and the average undergraduate class size is 36.
Colleges and schools. The university has 18 schools and colleges: Architecture + Planning, Business (David Eccles School of Business), Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, the Graduate School, Health, the Honors College, Humanities, Law (S.J. Quinney College of Law), Medicine, Mines & Earth Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy, Science, Social & Behavioral Science and Social Work. Students choose from more than 100 undergraduate majors and over 200 graduate programs, including more than 100 master's and doctoral degrees.
Health sciences and research. University of Utah Health operates five hospitals, 12 community health centers and more than 80 telemedicine sites, and includes the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Huntsman Mental Health Institute. Research funding totalled $781 million in fiscal year 2025, with 962,000+ square feet of research space on campus. Mario Capecchi, a Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine, is among its researchers.
Student life and housing. The university has 750+ student organizations, 12 fraternities and 10 sororities, the Eccles Student Life Center for recreation (including a 54-foot climbing wall) and the Bennion Center for community service. Housing is guaranteed for all first-year students; about 5,500 undergraduates live in residence halls and around 20 living-learning and theme communities operate, including Kahlert Village, Lassonde Studios, Officers Circle, Chapel Glen, Gateway Heights, Sage Point and Trailhead. Eleven ski areas lie within an hour of campus.
International students. International applicants are admitted as first-year, transfer, graduate, returning and second-bachelor's students and receive I-20 documents for F-1 visas after admission. International Student & Scholar Services supports students after arrival. The university has been accredited continuously by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) since 1933.
Renewable for up to four years, awarded by unweighted high school GPA to students admitted by the December 1 deadline: President John R. Park Scholarship (4.00 GPA) $10,000; Provost's Scholarship (3.90) $8,000; Bonneville Scholarship (3.80) $6,000; Red Rock Scholarship (3.70) $4,000; Great Salt Lake Scholarship (3.50) $3,000. Students studying on a visa are not eligible for university merit scholarships because they are partly or fully funded by government money; permanent residents, refugees and asylees are eligible. Need-based scholarships require a timely FAFSA (priority date February 1).
For Utah covers four years of tuition and fees for Utah resident first-time freshmen with a 3.2+ GPA who are Pell Grant eligible. Utah Promise covers tuition and mandatory fees for Utah resident first-year students with an unweighted GPA of 3.5 or higher and family income and assets each below $100,000. Both are last-dollar awards and do not cover books or housing.
The International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) Scholarship gives a one-time $2,000 award to F-1 or J-1 students facing unexpected financial hardship; applications for 2026 open November 1 and close December 1, 2026. International students can also look to college-based scholarships (College of Engineering, David Eccles School of Business, Hinckley Institute of Politics) and International Alumni Club scholarships, listed on the international scholarships page. Eligible Utah high school graduates on non-immigrant visas may qualify for the House Bill 118 waiver of the non-resident portion of tuition.
International students pay non-resident tuition. Estimated expenses for I-20 purposes: tuition and fees $32,932, international student fee $300, international orientation fee $75, housing and food $19,198, health insurance $3,000, books and course materials $1,600, miscellaneous $9,000; total $66,105.
Official pages: Financial aid and scholarships, freshman scholarships.
University of Utah Freshman Merit Scholarships →
International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) Scholarship →
Browse the scholarships listed for University of Utah and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for University of Utah →Applicants who graduated from a Utah high school apply through the Beehive Application (free) or the Common Application; students from outside Utah use the Common Application. Review is holistic: course rigour (AP, IB, dual or concurrent enrolment), grade trends, cumulative unweighted GPA and completion of high school graduation requirements are the primary factors. There is no minimum GPA; 75% of recent freshman admits had an unweighted GPA of 3.5 or higher. The university is test-optional for first-year admission: ACT/SAT scores are not required for admission, merit scholarships or admission to individual majors. Scores are required for home-schooled applicants, GED or HiSET holders and graduates of U.S. high schools that are not regionally accredited. Applicants must submit official high school transcripts and pay the application fee ($55 domestic, $65 international) or hold an approved fee waiver. December 1 is the Early Action date and the deadline for merit scholarship consideration.
Transfer applicants have attended a regionally accredited college or university without completing a bachelor's degree. Official transcripts from every college attended are required, plus an official high school transcript if fewer than 30 transferable semester hours (45 quarter hours) are complete. Deadlines: Spring November 15; Summer April 1; Fall April 1; priority scholarship deadline February 1. The application fee is $55 (domestic) or $65 (international).
International first-year students apply through the Common Application. Deadlines: Spring November 15, Summer May 1, Fall August 1. For F-1 applicants living outside the United States, I-20 documents are due Spring November 15, Summer April 1, Fall June 1. The application fee is $65 and need-based fee waivers are not available to students studying on a visa. Secondary school transcripts (mark sheets) are required, with an official English translation where needed; unofficial copies of non-U.S. transcripts are accepted to complete the application and official copies are required after admission. Non-U.S. GED and HiSET results are not accepted.
English proficiency. Accepted evidence includes TOEFL iBT 80 or higher, IELTS 6.5 or higher, Duolingo 110 or higher, and for first-year and readmitted applicants ACT English 18 or higher or SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 510 or higher. Test dates must fall within two years of application. Native English-speaking citizens of listed countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Namibia and Botswana, are exempt from the proof requirement.
I-20 and financial documents. An I-20 is issued after admission to a degree programme (certificate programmes do not qualify). Admitted students must show liquid funds covering the estimated expenses for their first year; bank statements, approved education loans, official scholarship award letters and university-verified tuition waivers are acceptable, and sponsors must complete an Affidavit of Support. Undergraduate international students must show funding for 12 credit hours per semester.
Graduate applicants hold a conferred U.S. four-year bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution or the recognised international equivalent. Departments set their own deadlines, academic standards and extra materials (statements of purpose, recommendations); some programmes need a programme-specific application. All college transcripts are uploaded to the online application, and the non-refundable application fee is $55 (domestic) or $65 (international). Official transcripts are required after admission.
Libraries: J. Willard Marriott Library (main library), Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, James E. Faust Law Library and McKay Music Library.
Facilities: five hospitals and 12 community health centers through U of U Health; Eccles Student Life Center and campus recreation facilities; 50+ miles of hiking trails in the foothills above campus; on-campus residence halls and apartments with dining plans.
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