University of Utah

The campus sits at the base of the Wasatch Range and spreads across a large area with modern teaching buildings, research laboratories, and student housing. The layout includes several colleges focused on different fields such as medicine, engineering, humanities, and natural sciences.

Brigham Young founded the institution in 1850 under the name University of Deseret, shortly after Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. The renaming occurred forty years later, as the territory prepared to join the Union.

The name derives from the state of Utah, which itself comes from the Ute people who originally inhabited this region. Visitors today can walk across the sprawling campus and watch students moving between lectures or relaxing on the lawns.

The campus is open to visitors who can walk around the grounds and view buildings from outside, though some areas remain restricted to enrolled students. The best time to visit is during weekdays in term when the grounds are active and you get a genuine sense of student life.

The grounds served as the Olympic Village during the Winter Games in 2002, which led to the renovation of many dormitories and facilities. The new buildings from that period still shape the appearance of large sections of the campus today.

Location: Salt Lake City

Inception: 1850

Founders: Brigham Young

Address: 201 Presidents Circle, ROOM 201, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112-9008

Website: https://utah.edu

GPS coordinates: 40.76417,-111.84639

Latest update: December 12, 2025 20:07