Caroline, a high school freshman from Haines, Alaska, balances a demanding schedule of academics and athletics throughout the year. From volleyball and swimming in the fall to basketball in the winter and track and field in the spring, staying organized and managing her time is essential.

With such a full schedule, Caroline needed a course that offered both flexibility and structure. She found that balance through BYU Independent Study. Drawn to World Geography because of her interest in travel and understanding the world, she enrolled knowing she could work at a pace that fit her commitments.

The online course format allowed Caroline to plan ahead during busier seasons. She appreciated being able to work ahead when time allowed and slow down when practices and competitions increased. This flexibility helped her stay on track while continuing to take responsibility for her learning.

Caroline especially enjoyed learning how societies and people shape geography, gaining a deeper understanding of the world around her. The course challenged her to think critically and independently—skills that will support her future academic goals.

As she looks ahead to college and a possible career in marine biology or athletic training, Caroline feels confident in the learning habits she is building now. For families considering BYU Independent Study, her advice is simple: “Just do it. It was amazing for me, and I would recommend it to anyone.”

Caroline’s experience shows how BYU Independent Study supports motivated students with rigorous academics, flexible pacing, and the independence needed to succeed in high school and beyond.

People have always relied on stories to understand the world around them. Whether you follow the news to stay informed, make sense of current events, or feel inspired by the actions of others, you’ve likely consumed thousands of news stories in your lifetime. But have you ever wanted to join the conversation?

So What Exactly Does a Journalist Do?

There are many kinds of journalists, such as news writers, anchors, reporters, podcasters, producers, and editors. No matter their role, they’re all driven by a desire to inform the public. Journalists work to create accurate, truthful content that is independent and fair. They also strive to present information in engaging ways that allow audiences to form their own opinions.

Education and Training Requirements

While it’s possible to enter journalism without formal training, most journalists begin by earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field. During school, students gain hands-on experience through campus newsrooms, internships, and student media outlets.

After graduation, aspiring journalists continue building skills in writing, interviewing, technology, and storytelling through entry-level roles. As they gain experience and move into larger markets, they often take on more complex and high-impact stories.

How BYU Independent Study Can Help

BYU Independent Study offers flexible, self-paced courses that help you build a strong foundation in writing, media literacy, and mass communication—key skills for future journalists. Because it is flexible and self-paced, BYU IS makes it easy for you to balance internships, school, and other responsibilities as you work toward your bachelor’s degree. Some of the journalism-related and mass communication courses offered through BYU include:

• COMMS 101 – Mass Communication and Society
• COMMS 300 – Media Ethics, Law, and Responsibility
• COMMS 411 – Media Effects
• COMMS 482 – Religion, Media, and Society
• WRTG 150 – Writing and Rhetoric

Next Steps

After completing courses through Independent Study, your next steps typically include finishing your bachelor's degree, gaining meaningful experience with your campus newsroom or an internship, and seeking relevant entry-level positions. Each of these steps will help you build the skills, confidence, and ethical grounding needed to tell important stories and serve the public through journalism.

Do you or someone you know see a therapist or counselor? For many people today, the answer is yes.

Life presents many challenges, and navigating them alone isn’t always easy. As more people recognize the value of therapeutic support, mental health professionals are in higher demand than ever.

What Do Mental Health Professionals Do?

The term mental health professional encompasses a wide range of licensed practitioners, including counselors, therapists, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists. Through various forms of therapy, assessment, and guidance, these professionals help individuals improve their emotional well-being, manage mental health conditions, and develop healthy coping strategies.

Education and Training Requirements

Education and training requirements vary by career path, but most mental health professionals follow a similar progression:

• Earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work, counseling, or a related field
• Complete a master’s program and supervised clinical hours
• Apply for state licensure

Some specializations, such as clinical psychology, also require a doctoral degree (PsyD or PhD).

How BYU Independent Study Can Help

BYU Independent Study (IS) offers flexible, self-paced courses that help you build a strong foundation for a bachelor’s degree in psychology and prepare for graduate education. With BYU IS’s flexible, self-paced format, you can work on the prerequisites you need while balancing school, work, or other responsibilities. Some of the psychology courses offered through BYU IS include:

• PSYCH 111 – Introduction to Psychological Science
• PSYCH 210 – History of Psychology
• PSYCH 220 – Human Development: Life Span
• PSYCH 307 – Writing Within Psychology
• PSYCH 308 – Psychological Statistics
• PSYCH 310 - Psychological Research Design and Analysis
• PSYCH 320 – Child Development
• PSYCH 338 – Sport Psychology
• PSYCH 341 – Personality
• PSYCH 342 – Psychopathology
• PSYCH 350 – Introduction to Social Psychology
• PSYCH 358 – Leadership Development
• PSYCH 381 – Behavioral Neurobiology

Completing foundational psychology coursework is an important first step toward a career in mental health.

Next Steps

After completing courses through BYU IS, your next steps typically include finishing your bachelor’s degree, gaining meaningful experience through volunteer or clinical work, and preparing to apply to graduate programs for your master’s degree. Taking these steps can move you closer to a meaningful career where you support others, strengthen communities, and make a lasting impact.

Just a year ago (January 2025), wildfires tore through Southern California, devastating entire neighborhoods and displacing thousands of families. Schools were not spared. For students at Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles County, the fires didn’t just destroy homes. They erased their campus overnight.

With classrooms reduced to ash, students, teachers, and staff were suddenly forced into remote learning, trying to stay focused on school while their community worked to recover.

When John Kent, an academic consultant at Brigham Young University Continuing Education, learned about the destruction, he knew he wanted to help. As he reached out to schools in the affected areas, the situation at Palisades Charter High School stood out. The need was immediate, and the path forward was uncertain.

Kent began working with BYU Independent Study leaders to find a meaningful way to support the students. After receiving approval from administration and the dean’s office, the online course provider made an extraordinary decision: students from Palisades Charter High School could enroll in BYU Independent Study high school courses completely free of charge.

“That was a very generous statement by the organization,” Kent says. “It showed real compassion and a desire to help students in need.”

Since the offer was extended, numerous students enrolled in and completed coursework through Independent Study. For them, continuing their education provided a sense of normalcy at a time when very little felt stable. School became a constant when much of life felt uncertain.

For Kent, moments like this capture the true purpose of education. “If a student really wants to move forward and succeed in their future, education is the answer,” he says. “It opens doors that might not otherwise be available.”

Since 1991, BYU Independent Study has served millions of high school enrollments with accredited, online courses. Its mission has always been to provide high-quality, values-based education that supports students wherever they are.

As Southern California communities continue to heal, BYU’s support of Palisades Charter High School stands as a reminder that education can do more than teach. It can restore hope. And for Kent and others at BYU Continuing Education, it reaffirmed why they do this work in the first place.

“The best part of my job is working with people who genuinely want to help students,” Kent says. “That’s what we’re here to do.”

Education. Even as a busy adult with a full-time job, you understand its power. You know learning can elevate, enable, and transform—and that it’s never too late to start. You’ve proven that already by enrolling in a remote algebra course from BYU Independent Study. But imagine this story beginning 100 years earlier.

It’s the 1920s. Each day you check your mailbox, hoping to find a thick sepia envelope stuffed with lessons and assignments. In the quiet years after the Great War, education feels precious—something worth pursuing no matter the distance or the format.

That’s right: BYU has offered independent courses since the early 1920s. Long before laptops and wi-fi, students learned through correspondence packets delivered straight to their doorsteps. And just like today’s digital courses, those packets sparked learning that educated, enabled, and inspired.

Here are a few highlights from BYU Independent Study’s century-spanning story:

Missionaries were among the first students.

In the early 1920s, BYU’s Bureau of Correspondence (as it was then known) served 255 students—nearly half of them missionaries preparing for the field. Courses in genealogy and doctrine helped them feel spiritually anchored and academically ready for what lay ahead. Even at the beginning, BYU Independent Study was about more than grades. It was about growth that made a difference.

Enrollment surged during WWII.

By the mid-1940s, BYU Independent Study was busier than ever. Of 1,064 enrolled students, an incredible 700 were servicemen and servicewomen taking courses through the United States Armed Forces Institute. Many would never set foot on campus, but they carried their lessons with them around the world. Completion rates weren’t always ideal—war has a way of disrupting homework—but the truth was clear: learning stays with us, even in the trenches.

In 1955, 2,300 study packets mailed to servicemen.

The Church’s Study-While-You-Serve initiative, supported by BYU, sent “An Invitation to Learning” to Latter-day Saint servicemen worldwide. Each packet included a personal message from President Joseph Fielding Smith. For many, their course materials arrived with prophetic encouragement tucked inside.

By the 1970s, BYU IS ranked among the largest programs in the nation.

In 1972, nearly 8,500 students were enrolled; by 1980, enrollment surpassed 13,000. BYU ranked third nationwide in college-level correspondence registrations, just behind California and Penn State. If BYU Independent Study had been its own campus, it would’ve been one of the largest at BYU.

Fax machines once powered fast feedback.

During the 1990s, BYU Independent Study introduced Speedback and Faxback—systems that allowed students to fax in assignments and receive rapid computer-graded results. It wasn’t Canvas, but it dramatically cut turnaround times and made learning more accessible and efficient.

So the next time you open a digital course, take a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come. For more than 100 years, education has triumphed over distance, technology barriers, and world events. And today, BYU Independent Study offers more flexibility, higher quality, and better support than ever before.

There’s never been a better time to become a lifelong learner.

More high school students than ever are earning college credit early—and research shows it’s a powerful head start.

At BYU Independent Study, we help students thrive in high school and beyond with flexible AP, CTE, and dual-enrollment courses they can take anytime, anywhere.

What is dual enrollment?
Students earn college credit while still in high school through:
• AP courses — College-level curriculum with potential exam-based credit
• CTE courses — Career exploration + workforce skills
• University dual-enrollment courses — Real transcripted credit that transfers

The payoff is big. A new 2025 study from the Community College Research Center found that students who complete accelerated coursework—especially dual-enrollment classes—earn 27–40% more by their mid-20s than peers who don’t.

Even better: students who combine dual enrollment with AP or CTE options experience…
• Higher college completion rates
• Faster career and income growth
• Greater long-term academic success

BYU Independent Study makes it all possible
Students can:
• Learn at their own pace in online courses
• Receive free tutoring and academic support
• Earn real college credit that moves with them

When students gain college-level momentum early, they’re more confident, more prepared—and more likely to thrive after graduation.

Explore BYU Independent Study courses and help students get ahead today!

For Melanie, a devoted mom from Arkansas, education has always been more than a goal—it’s been a lifelong dream.

She began her college journey 28 years ago, but life’s demands—raising a family, managing a household, and facing unexpected challenges—made finishing her degree difficult. Still, she never gave up. With three children currently attending Brigham Young University, Melanie felt inspired to finally achieve the milestone she had put on hold for nearly three decades.

Finding a Flexible Path Forward

Living hundreds of miles from campus, Melanie knew she needed a program that could adapt to her schedule and support her through life’s ups and downs. That’s when she discovered BYU Independent Study.

She enrolled in Adult Development and Aging in the Family, a course that aligned perfectly with her academic interests and family-centered perspective. The self-paced format and online accessibility gave her the freedom to continue her studies while still managing her responsibilities at home.

“The Independent Study format was exactly what I needed,” Melanie shared. “It offered structure but also the flexibility to work at my own pace.”

Persevering Through Unexpected Trials

Shortly after returning to her studies, Melanie received a life-changing diagnosis: breast cancer. The news could have halted her educational progress completely—but it didn’t.

Thanks to BYU Independent Study’s flexible and compassionate design, Melanie was able to keep learning while undergoing treatment and focusing on recovery. The ability to complete assignments from home, on her own schedule, meant she didn’t have to choose between her health and her goals.

“Because of the flexibility, I was able to keep going,” she said. “It gave me something positive to work toward while I was healing.”

Encouragement That Made a Difference

One of the highlights of Melanie’s experience was the support she received from her professor. His responsiveness, kindness, and enthusiasm for the subject inspired her to stay engaged and keep pushing forward.

“He was an amazing teacher—encouraging, passionate, and always quick to respond,” she said. “The projects and assignments really made the material come alive.”

For Melanie, that sense of connection and encouragement turned an online class into a meaningful learning experience that reignited her love of education.

Reaching the Finish Line

After years of perseverance, Melanie is graduating this year—a moment she’s dreamed about for nearly three decades. She’s proud not only of her accomplishment but also of the example she’s set for her children.

“I want them to see that it’s never too late to finish what you started,” she said.

Her journey stands as a reminder that determination, faith, and the right support system can make even the longest-held dreams come true.

Empowering Learners of Every Age

Melanie’s story reflects what BYU Independent Study strives to offer every student—a chance to learn at their own pace, on their own time, and in their own way. Whether you’re just starting your college journey or returning years later, it’s never too late to pursue your goals and make education a lifelong adventure.