CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1
Graduate Study

CHAPTER 2
Admission and
Registration

CHAPTER 3
Degree
Requirements

CHAPTER 4
Fields
of Study

CHAPTER 5
Members of
Graduate Studies
Committees

APPENDIX
Course
Abbreviations

1.  Graduate Study

The University of Texas at Austin, established in 1883, is a major research institution. It is the largest member of The University of Texas System. The University has grown from one building, two departments, eight faculty members, and 221 students on a forty-acre tract to a campus of more than three hundred acres, with more than 110 buildings. The enrollment is about forty-nine thousand.

The faculty includes Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winners and members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The University awards the second largest number of doctoral degrees in the United States and is one of three southwestern members of the Association of American Universities.

The Graduate School (which does not include the School of Law) was established in 1909. More than ten thousand graduate students are enrolled; more than seven hundred doctoral degrees and more than twenty-five hundred master's degrees are awarded each year.

The administration of the Graduate School is the responsibility of the vice president and dean of graduate studies. Graduate degrees are available in about ninety fields. Each academic area that offers a graduate degree has a Graduate Studies Committee, a group consisting of all the assistant, associate, and full professors who are active in that graduate degree program. The Graduate Studies Committee recommends students for admission to the program, sets program-specific requirements for the graduate degrees in that area, and recommends students for admission to candidacy for degrees. Graduate education is the responsibility of the members of Graduate Studies Committees. One member serves as the graduate adviser to register and advise all graduate students, to maintain records, and to represent the Graduate School in matters pertaining to graduate work in that area.

Statement on Equal Educational Opportunity

To the extent provided by applicable law, no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under, any program or activity sponsored or conducted by The University of Texas System or any of its component institutions on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.

Title IX/ADA/504 Coordinators

Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972) and disability (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990). The University has designated the following persons as Coordinators to monitor compliance with these statutes and to resolve complaints of discrimination based on gender or disability.

For students:

Teresa Brett, Dean of Students, SSB 4.104 (100-B West Dean Keeton Street), (512) 471-1201

For employees:

Linda Millstone, Deputy to the Vice President and Director of Equal Opportunity Services, NOA 4.302 (101 East 27th Street), (512) 471-1849

Accreditation

The University of Texas at Austin is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, telephone number (404) 697-4501) to award bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.

The Mission of the University

The mission of the University is to achieve excellence in the interrelated areas of undergraduate education, graduate education, research, and public service. The University provides superior and comprehensive educational opportunities at the baccalaureate through doctoral and special professional educational levels. The University contributes to the advancement of society through research, creative activity, scholarly inquiry, and the development of new knowledge. The University preserves and promotes the arts, benefits the state economy, serves the citizens through public programs, and provides other public service.

The Nature and Purpose of Graduate Work

Graduate work at the University is divided into disciplines. These are normally associated with departments; they may, however, be broader in scope, involving courses and research in several departments. The candidate for an advanced degree presents work done in a chosen major area, but usually he or she is also expected to have done supporting work on an advanced level (upper-division or graduate) in one or more relevant areas. There are three components of graduate study: coursework, independent study, and independent scholarly research leading to a report, thesis, recital, dissertation, or treatise. In some areas, internships, field studies, and other professional experiences may also be an integral part of the program. The proportion of each type of study varies according to the previous training of the student and the nature of the major area.

The objective of graduate study is to develop the intellectual breadth and to provide the specialized training necessary to a career in teaching, in research, or in the professions. Emphasis is placed on the knowledge, methods, and skills needed for scholarly teaching, original research and problem solving, intellectual leadership, creative expression, and other modes of achievement in the student's discipline.

Graduate Degrees

The Graduate School offers the following degrees.

Fields of Study

Graduate degrees are offered in the following fields. A complete list of fields in which graduate courses are taught is given in the appendix.

Joint Degree Programs

Joint degree programs are structured so that a student can pursue graduate work at the University in two fields and fulfill the requirements of two degrees; in programs leading to two master's degrees, the degrees are awarded simultaneously. To enter a joint program, the student must be accepted by both of the individual programs. Students who wish to enter a joint program that involves the JD degree should contact the Admissions Office in the School of Law first. Joint programs are offered in the following fields.

Joint degree programs with other institutions. The joint degree programs listed above lead to two University degrees. The University also offers two programs in which students simultaneously pursue a University degree and a degree from another institution. A joint degree program in biomedical engineering allows students to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. A joint degree program in business administration allows students to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree from the University and the degree of Maestria en Administracion from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

Master's and Doctoral Portfolio Programs

The goal of master's and doctoral portfolio programs is to recognize and encourage cross-disciplinary research and scholarly activity. A portfolio program usually consists of four thematically related graduate courses and a research presentation; for master's portfolio programs, a practical experience may replace the presentation. The portfolio must include courses offered by at least two graduate programs other than the student's major program. Portfolio programs are approved by the Graduate School. Although the certification requirements of each program are independent of the requirements for graduate degrees, courses included in the Program of Work may, with appropriate approval, be counted toward certification. Upon completion of both degree and portfolio program requirements, the student's University record reflects portfolio certification.

Doctoral portfolio programs are available in cultural studies, dispute resolution, gerontology, interdisciplinary European studies, Mexican American studies, presidential studies, urban studies, and women's studies. Dispute resolution is also available as a master's portfolio program.

Information about portfolio programs is available from the Office of Graduate Studies and at http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/docport.

Intellectual Entrepreneurship Program

In response to the changing professional environment today's students face, the Office of Graduate Studies seeks to provide education that encompasses the kinds of competence, the knowledge, and the skills future academic professionals will need. Preparing to teach well in higher education is one aspect of a graduate student's development. However, those with graduate degrees also need to hone effective writing, communication, and other professional skills for use not only in the classroom but also in nonteaching arenas.

Professional development courses are one way the Graduate School seeks to help students become citizen-scholars. Graduate School (GRS) courses are designed to teach students how to adapt to a variety of audiences--so that they can write scholarly articles, develop grant proposals, secure book contracts, use knowledge to generate informed and responsible public policies, facilitate innovation in commerce and business, and effectively instruct a variety of student populations. These courses are open to all University graduate students.

Graduate School courses are described in chapter 4.

Next File in Chapter 1

Graduate Catalog
Contents
Chapter 1 - Graduate Study
Chapter 2 - Admission and Registration
Chapter 3 - Degree Requirements
Chapter 4 - Fields of Study
Chapter 5 - Members of Graduate Studies Committees
Appendix - Course Abbreviations

Related Information
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Office of Admissions

Office of the Registrar
University of Texas at Austin

8 November 2002. Registrar's Web Team

Send comments to rgcat@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu