University of Texas at Austin

#62 / #22
Global Influence / U.S. Influence
#43
Most Desirable School
Public university in Austin, Texas

University of Texas at Austin Featured Rankings

About University of Texas at Austin

By James Barham, PhD

By rights, the University of Texas (known within Texas itself as “UT,” for short) ought to be 40 years older than it is. In 1839, the Republic of Texas officially set aside 40 acres of prime real estate in the center of the new country’s capital city, Austin, as the site for the campus of a national university. The Texas Congress also granted 288,000 acres of land, mainly in the western regions of the Republic, as a financial endowment for the future university.

Much later, oil was discovered beneath a lot of that land. As a result, UT’s endowment is now worth a little more than $30 billion, making the school by far the wealthiest public university in the country. Indeed, among all American universities, UT is second only to Harvard (see above) in the size of its endowment.

However, the actual building of the university was long delayed, first by the accession of the Republic of Texas to the United States in 1845, and then by the coming of the Civil War. As a defeated Confederate state, Texas was dealt with harshly by the Federal government during the period of Reconstruction. Eventually, however, the state recovered enough independence in running its own affairs to carry through the long-delayed project of building a state university.

Today, UT is the flagship campus of the far-flung University of Texas System, and is now officially known as the “University of Texas at Austin” to distinguish it from the 13 other campuses, which include eight full-fledged universities and five separate medical school/hospital complexes. The overall system comprises more than 300,000 students, faculty, and staff, while UT’s share in that number stands at around 75,000.

Although it is only fair to say that Texas itself has never exactly been known as a cultural mecca, nevertheless with the cash at its disposal UT has been able to attract a faculty—and to provide them with facilities—that easily rival those of the best Ivy League schools. For example, in 1982, in an academic coup that reverberated around the entire country, UT managed to lure the world-famous Nobel Prize–winning physicist, Steven Weinberg, away from Harvard.

In all, UT is associated with 13 Nobel Prize–recipients, including (in addition to Weinberg):

  • John Goodenough Nobel prize winner for chemistry (2019) for his work on storing electrical energy in batteries
  • Russian-born pioneer of the field of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, Ilya Prigogine—chemistry
  • American geneticist Hermann Muller and immunologist James Alison—physiology or medicine
  • Swedish economist, sociologist, and philosopher, Gunnar Myrdal—economics
  • South African–born novelist, J.M. Coetzee—for literature

Among other notable alumni and faculty, we may mention:

  • Celebrated Argentinian author of sui generis metaphysical fictions, Jorge Luis Borges
  • Singer, Janis Joplin
  • Film directors, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, & Richard Rodriguez
  • Actors, Eli Wallach, Jayne Mansfield, Matthew McConaughey, Renée Zellweger, & Marcia Gay Harden
  • Entrepreneur and entertainment industry executive, David Geffen
  • Television journalist, Walter Cronkite
  • Astronomer and television personality, Neil deGrasse Tyson
  • Entrepreneur and founder of Dell Technologies, Michael S. Dell
  • Bestselling non-fiction author and 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination candidate, Marianne Williamson
  • Former and sitting Texas governors, Ann Richards & Greg Abbott

According to Wikipedia, The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 graduate students and 3,133 teaching faculty as of Fall 2021, it is also the largest institution in the system. It is ranked among the top universities in the world by major college and university rankings, and admission to its programs is considered highly selective.

University of Texas at Austin's Online Degrees

MS in Mechanical Engineering
  • Required Credits: 30
  • Completion Time: None Reported
  • Format: None Reported
MS in Engineering Management
  • Required Credits: 30
  • Completion Time: None Reported
  • Format: None Reported

University of Texas at Austin Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information

Annual ApplicationsAcceptanceGraduation RateMedian SAT ScoreMedian ACT Score
66,07729%88%134029

How Much Does University of Texas at Austin Cost To Attend?

Tuition (in-state)
$11,752

How Much Do University of Texas at Austin Graduates Make?

If you graduate from University of Texas at Austin, then you can expect to earn an average of $73,900 per year. You also have a 92% chance of being employed after 10 years.

University of Texas at Austin's Demographics

Demographic data is for full-time, on-campus students.

Student BodyUnder-GradsGraduates
45,28137,6477,634

Where is University of Texas at Austin?

University of Texas at Austin is located at 110 Inner Campus Drive, Austin TX 78705

What Is University of Texas at Austin Known For?

University of Texas at Austin is known for it's academic work in the following disciplines:

University of Texas at Austin's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Who Are University of Texas at Austin's Most Influential Alumni?

University of Texas at Austin's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Social Work, Communications, and Business. Here are some of University of Texas at Austin's most famous alumni:

Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
An American broadcast journalist .
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers
An American journalist.
Edsger W. Dijkstra
Edsger W. Dijkstra
A Dutch computer scientist.
C. Wright Mills
C. Wright Mills
An American sociologist .
Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
An American writer, speaker, futurist, and design instructor.
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
An American painter and graphic artist .
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson
An African-American astrophysicist, and science communicator.
Steven Best
Steven Best
An American activist.
Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor
An American computer scientist .
J. M. Coetzee
J. M. Coetzee
A South African writer.
James P. Allison
James P. Allison
An American immunologist and professor.
Abhay Ashtekar
An Indian physicist.

Who Are University of Texas at Austin's Most Influential Faculty?

University of Texas at Austin's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Social Work, Communications, and Business. Here are some of University of Texas at Austin's most famous alumni:

Roger Penrose
Roger Penrose
An English mathematical physicist, recreational mathematician and philosopher.
John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler
An American physicist.
Ilya Prigogine
Ilya Prigogine
A Russian-Belgian physical chemist.
Edsger W. Dijkstra
Edsger W. Dijkstra
A Dutch computer scientist.
Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg
An American theoretical physicist .
Robert C. Solomon
Robert C. Solomon
An American philosopher.
David G. Bromley
An American academic and sociologist .
John Tate
John Tate
An American mathematician .
Robert Audi
An American philosopher.
Patrick Olivelle
An Indologist.
John B. Goodenough
John B. Goodenough
A Nobel laureate in Chemistry & American solid-state physicist and professor.
Ferid Murad
Ferid Murad
An American physician and pharmacologist.

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