College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Brigham Young University

UTLarge private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #27 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Brigham Young University ranks #27 in the nation, led by a 98th mobility .

Who it’s a good fit for

Brigham Young University is a large private nonprofit university in Provo, Utah, with a degree mix led by Business and Biological Sciences. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that to the factors it measures, which adds to expected earnings, while the remainder it does not explain subtracts.

Return is well above average. What the lowest-income band pays sits well below the published sticker cost, and the highest-income band pays closer to it.

Affordability is among the highest we track. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and the largest programs span a wide earnings range, from Human Development and Family Studies to Finance. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study.

Brigham Young University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
67.8%
Six-year completion[2]
81.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$77,018

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,062
Median student debt[4]
$11,069
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$9,699

Brigham Young University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Brigham Young University enrolls 32,952 undergraduates as a private nonprofit university in Provo, Utah. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it sits near the top of the composite ranking (98th percentile).

Brigham Young University accepts 67.8% of applicants, a figure below the 47.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 91.0% return for a second year, above the peer median of 90.1%.

81.0% complete within six years, also above the peer median of 80.0%. An estimated 18.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes those who began as full-time freshmen rather than the whole student body.

The four pillars sit close together near the top of the scale, with mobility the strongest and access the weakest. Return and affordability fall between them. That tight grouping leaves no pillar far from the others.

Azimuth finds that the mobility pillar reaches the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's composite rank is #27 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Affordability follows in the 94th percentile, and the access and return pillars sit close together at the 90th and 90th percentiles. Access is the weakest pillar, though all four stand well above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

For enrolled students who submitted scores, the middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,270 and 1,460, while the ACT middle 50% ran from 28 to 32. 32.1% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants.

In the Azimuth ranking of nonprofit four-year institutions, Brigham Young University sits at #151 for access. Pell recipients complete at 66.8%, below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole by 14.2 percentage points.

Azimuth ranks the university #35 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,906 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Brigham Young University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#27

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 98
Access & reach
National percentile: 90
Affordability
National percentile: 94
Return on investment
National percentile: 90

Top-ranked majors

  1. Marketing#1
  2. Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management#2
  3. Manufacturing Engineering#2

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Brigham Young University briefing

Brigham Young University cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Brigham Young University is $22,690, with tuition and fees of $6,688 and room and board of $10,396. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported on-campus food and housing of $11,200.

It also listed estimated books and supplies of $416, estimated transportation of $2,608, and estimated other expenses of $2,088. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $15,564.

That is $20,647 below the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #85 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at Brigham Young University is $22,690. Azimuth ranks the university #85 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $10,444, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $13,062, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $20,542. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,098.

Grants and scholarships save the average aid recipient $7,126 against the sticker price, bringing the overall to $15,564. That is $20,647 below the $36,211 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Tuition and fees are $6,688. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $11,069 in federal student loans, $12,099 below the peer median of $23,168.

About 47.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS hold a separate median of $9,699.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $126 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,062

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Brigham Young University

Completing borrowers at Brigham Young University hold median federal debt of $11,069. That median runs below the $23,168 figure for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $12,099.

About 47.4% of federal aid recipients take out federal loans. Parent borrowers show a median Parent PLUS loan of $9,699, a separate population.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported borrowing among 5,343 bachelor's graduates who started as first-time students. 22% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $16,031 per borrower, including 22% who took federal loans and averaged $15,622 and 1% who took private loans and averaged $10,097.

The median earnings for Brigham Young University graduates reach $77,018 four years after completion; Azimuth places that level in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure sits below the $83,615 median at comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $6,597.

The earnings cohort includes 4,961 completers. Graduates earn about $9,906 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix run from a downside of $41,973 to an upside of $112,866, with a typical scenario of $77,018. Against those figures, median federal debt is $11,069, below the $23,168 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the median federal debt carries a monthly payment of $126.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $9,699. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $126.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$11,069
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$9,699

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$126/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$123/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Brigham Young University briefing

Brigham Young University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

The return pillar for Brigham Young University stands in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, per Azimuth. Four years after completion, median earnings for federally aided completers are $77,018, a level in the 85th percentile.

That is $6,597 below the comparable-institution median of $83,615 (same type and size). Completers earn about $9,906 more than the model expects for similar students, a performance that falls in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,716. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,810. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,629.

Four years after completing a bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University, the median earnings of the 4,961 federally aided completers in the cohort stand at $77,018. That figure is below the median of $83,615 at comparable institutions (same type and size), yet graduates earn about $9,906 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome of $77,018, with a downside scenario of $41,973 and an upside scenario reaching $112,866. An estimated 32.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

The earnings picture reflects a program portfolio where the largest fields span a wide range. Finance graduates earn a median of $129,879 four years after completion, while Human Development and Family Studies graduates earn $28,906.

The university's median earnings place it in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Brigham Young University graduates earn a median of $77,018 four years after completion, in the 85th percentile nationally. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $83,615, so the university sits $6,597 below that mark.

Azimuth ranks the university #148 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,906 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 83rd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,716.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,810. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,629.

The program mix tilts toward business and the sciences, with an estimated 32.3% of graduates continuing to graduate study. Earnings scenarios, estimated from that mix, range from a downside of $41,973 to an upside of $112,866. The typical earnings scenario sits at $77,018.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $41,973 on the downside to $112,866 on the upside, with $77,018 as the typical scenario. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, Computer Science graduates earn a median of $142,800 four years after completion, and Computer Engineering graduates earn $133,111. The spread from the downside to the upside scenario illustrates the variation across the estimated scenarios.

At Brigham Young University, graduates earn about $9,906 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for completers is $11,069, a figure that sits below the peer median of $23,168 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The associated estimated monthly payment is $126 if repaid over ten years. The average net price for aid recipients is $15,564, which is below the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid recipients in the lowest income band face an average net price of $10,444, while those in the highest band face $20,542, a band-to-band difference of $10,098. Parent PLUS borrowers represent a separate population and carry a median debt of $9,699.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$12,716
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$2,810
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$9,906

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Brigham Young University briefing

Brigham Young University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 12,141 students applied, 8,331 were admitted, and 6,743 enrolled as first-year students. Brigham Young University admits 67.8% of applicants, a share that falls below the median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
67.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
1270
Reported average
1376
Approximate upper endpoint
1460

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Brigham Young University briefing

What are the largest majors at Brigham Young University?[12]

The largest programs at Brigham Young University span a wide earnings range four years after completion. Finance graduates earn a median of $129,879, while Human Development and Family Studies graduates earn $28,906.

Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences awards the most degrees, at 306 a year, with median earnings of $68,321. Azimuth ranks it #6 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management is a smaller program at 209 degrees awarded, but its graduates earn $118,606 and Azimuth ranks it #2 in its field. The contrast between the highest- and lowest-earning large programs is sharp, and the fields with the strongest earnings are not the ones awarding the most degrees.

44 of Brigham Young University's bachelor's programs carry an Azimuth national rank. Azimuth ranks Marketing #1 in its field among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 97 degrees awarded and median earnings of $112,596 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management #2 nationally and #1 in Utah. The program awards 209 degrees and its completers earn $118,606 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences, the largest single program, #6 nationally with 306 degrees awarded and median earnings of $68,321. Azimuth ranks Computer Science #35 nationally, with the highest earnings at $142,800 from 135 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks Finance #11 nationally, with 198 degrees awarded and median earnings of $129,879. The best-paid programs are smaller than the largest departments.

Brigham Young University awards degrees across 44 ranked programs, with earnings data available for 56. Business is the largest family, accounting for 14.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Biological Sciences at 12.4% and Engineering at 7.8%.

The largest single programs are Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences with 306 degrees awarded, Human Development and Family Studies with 300, and Accounting with 269. Marketing is the highest-ranked program, with 97 degrees awarded and median earnings of $112,596 four years after completion.

It has a benchmark ratio of 1.62x against the national median for its field. Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management ranks #2 nationally and #1 in Utah within its field, awarding 209 degrees a year.

Computer Science reports the highest four-year earnings, at $142,800, from 135 degrees awarded. Computer Engineering follows at $133,111 with 97 degrees awarded, and ranks #16 nationally within its field.

Finance, one of the largest programs by degrees awarded, has median earnings of $129,879 four years after completion. The pattern is one of strength concentrated in business and technology fields, where high ranks and high earnings coincide.

Several of the largest programs by degrees awarded also carry strong national ranks, while the highest-ranked program overall is a smaller one. Across all fields, 31.9% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences 306 degrees awarded
$68,321
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services 300 degrees awarded
$28,906
Accounting and Related Services 269 degrees awarded
$96,632
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management 209 degrees awarded
$118,606
Finance and Financial Management Services 198 degrees awarded
$129,879
Psychology, General 193 degrees awarded
$62,106

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Brigham Young University briefing

How does Brigham Young University serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility pillar sits in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the first-time full-time undergraduate cohort, the six-year graduation rate reaches 81.0%; Pell recipients finish at 66.8%, which is 14.2 percentage points below that level.

Graduates earn about $9,906 more than the model expects for similar students. That outcome falls in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Brigham Young University, a private nonprofit university in Provo, Utah, enrolls 32,952 undergraduates. The university admits 67.8% of applicants, a rate that falls below the peer median of 47.1%.

Pell Grant recipients account for 32.1% of the student body, while an estimated 18.9% enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Brigham Young University briefing

What colleges are similar to Brigham Young University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Brigham Young University.

Admissions peerPepperdine University62.9% admitted
Comparison with Brigham Young University
MeasureBrigham Young UniversityPepperdine University
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,018$84,459+$7,441 vs Brigham Young University
Average annual net price$15,564$58,098+$42,534 vs Brigham Young University · higher cost
Admission rate67.8%62.9%
Explore Pepperdine University →
Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Utah86.0% admitted
Comparison with Brigham Young University
MeasureBrigham Young UniversityUniversity of Utah
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,018$75,345-$1,673 vs Brigham Young University
Average annual net price$15,564$16,200+$636 vs Brigham Young University · higher cost
Admission rate67.8%86.0%
Explore University of Utah →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of UtahNearby option · UT
Comparison with Brigham Young University
MeasureBrigham Young UniversityUniversity of Utah
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,018$75,345-$1,673 vs Brigham Young University
Average annual net price$15,564$16,200+$636 vs Brigham Young University · higher cost
Admission rate67.8%86.0%
Explore University of Utah →
Higher-earnings alternativeMissouri University of Science and Technology$93,514 earnings
Comparison with Brigham Young University
MeasureBrigham Young UniversityMissouri University of Science and Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,018$93,514+$16,496 vs Brigham Young University
Average annual net price$15,564$16,298+$734 vs Brigham Young University · higher cost
Admission rate67.8%72.6%
Explore Missouri University of Science and Technology →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with Brigham Young University
MeasureBrigham Young UniversityCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,018$82,748+$5,730 vs Brigham Young University
Average annual net price$15,564$3,033-$12,531 vs Brigham Young University · lower cost
Admission rate67.8%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profileUniversity of Southern CaliforniaMatched across several measures
Comparison with Brigham Young University
MeasureBrigham Young UniversityUniversity of Southern California
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,018$95,739+$18,721 vs Brigham Young University
Average annual net price$15,564$32,740+$17,176 vs Brigham Young University · higher cost
Admission rate67.8%9.8%
Explore University of Southern California →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings