The U was a venue for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Olympics brought the U its spectacular, world-class residence halls, its refurbished stadium, a light rail line that connects the upper and lower sides of campus with downtown, and ample bragging rights for the next 25 years.
The University of Utah is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River, originally named the University of Deseret when it was founded in 1850.
The department of ballet has been ranked in the top three in North America and is the nation’s first university ballet degree program.
The U of U is the birthplace of the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, a statewide student business competition. Winners of the competition receive start-up cash to turn their business proposal into a reality.
The U is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as one of 50 comprehensive Research I universities from among 3,700 U.S. institutions.
The Honors Program at the U is the third oldest in the nation.
The Bachelor of University Studies enables students to custom-craft their own majors.
The Huntsman Cancer Institute on campus has the largest genetic database in the world, comprising more than three million records. Because of Utah’s extensive family history records, it’s an ideal location for genetic research and testing.
In 1982, perhaps the most famous heart transplant of all time took place at the University of Utah when Dr. Barney Clark was implanted with the Jarvik-7 artificial heart.