With two four-year public universities and two four-year private universities, the state of Utah has significantly less educational options than other states in the country. However, the schools that are located in Utah have a strong reputation for academic excellence, and still provide a good education for students who wish to study here.
The two main public universities in the state are the University of Utah and Utah State University. The University of Utah is located in Salt Lake City, and has the distinction of being the oldest university in the state since it was founded in 1850. It was first founded as the University of Deseret, but later changed its name to the University of Utah in 1892. There are more than 70 different major choices available at the university, which is considered to be a research institution that has very high research activity. Utah State University was founded in 1888 as a land-grant institution with a focus on agriculture. Today it is also a space-grant institution. The main campus is located in Logan, Utah, but there are three other extension campuses in Brigham City, Tooele and Uintah Basin.
Other public higher education institutions in the state include four master's universities, four two-year colleges and nine technical colleges.
Perhaps the most well known private university in Utah is Brigham Young University. Brigham Young University is located in Provo, and is run by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The university is the largest religious university in the entire country, and also has the distinction of being one of the largest private universities in the country as well. There are about 34,000 students enrolled in the university, and 98 percent of them belong to the LDS church. In addition to an emphasis on studying hard and working hard, the university also makes its students adhere to certain moral standards including taking an honor code, refraining from premarital sex, adhering to a dress code and banning the consumption of drugs and alcohol. BYU was founded in 1875, but to this day it continues to offer a quality education to Utah students. Its programs include engineering, agriculture, liberal arts, law and management. Famous alumni from Brigham Young include Stephenie Meyer, who wrote the popular "Twilight" book series, CEO of Dell Kevin Rollins and the 2012 Republican Presidential Nominee and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney.