Utah's flagship public research university, established 1850, with 36,881 students and top-tier programs in medicine, law, engineering, and computer science.
The University of Utah organizes 150 academic departments and programs into 18 colleges and schools, including the S.J. Quinney College of Law, School of Medicine (Utah's first medical school), David Eccles School of Business, College of Engineering, and College of Pharmacy. The university is classified as an R1 Doctoral University with very high research activity and received $723.7 million in research and development funding in fiscal year 2023, ranking 47th nationally. Notable programs include computer science, biology, dentistry, and political science, with particular strength in medical education and health sciences.
The 1,534-acre campus is located on the east bench of the Salt Lake Valley, approximately 2 miles east of downtown Salt Lake City. Student housing includes nine residential areas with 1,115 university apartments across three complexes; Kahlert Village (completed 2020) houses 990 first-year students, and the Lassonde Studios (built 2016) houses 400 students with maker spaces. The campus features the J. Willard Marriott Library, Rice–Eccles Stadium, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Red Butte Garden, and the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Transportation includes UTA TRAX light rail service, campus shuttles running on biodiesel, and a comprehensive bicycle master plan.
The university's health care system includes four hospitals (University of Utah Hospital, Primary Children's Medical Center), the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Moran Eye Center, and twelve community clinics. The health sciences complex occupies the northeast end of campus and includes the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library. Research Park at the southeast end houses companies including ARUP Laboratories, Evans & Sutherland, Sarcos, Biofire Diagnostics, and Myriad Genetics.
The Utes compete in NCAA Division I (FBS for football) as members of the Big 12 Conference. The university is ranked 8th by the EPA for annual green power usage among universities, with 49% of power from geothermal and solar sources. Sustainability initiatives include a cogeneration plant, energy-efficient building standards, recycling programs, and a 20-megawatt geothermal energy partnership with Rocky Mountain Power that reduces carbon emissions by 23%.