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 350 acres, with more than 110 buildings. The enrollment is about fifty-two 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 one of the 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 provost and dean of graduate studies. Graduate degrees are available in about a hundred 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

The University of Texas at Austin is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. In accordance with federal and state law, the University prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, citizenship, and veteran status. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is also prohibited pursuant to University policy.

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) 697-4500) 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's 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, research, the arts, or 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.

Ad Hoc Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program

In addition to established interdisciplinary academic programs, students may propose to construct an ad hoc interdisciplinary doctoral program that draws on the intellectual resources of several graduate programs and involves faculty members from more than one college or school. This procedure allows students who have been admitted to a graduate program to design a course of study that does not fit into an existing degree plan. Each program must be approved by the graduate dean.

Students interested in the ad hoc interdisciplinary doctoral program should consult the graduate adviser of the program to which they are admitted or to which they plan to apply. Additional information is available from the Office of Graduate Studies.

Dual Degree Programs

Dual 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 dual program, the student must be accepted by both of the individual programs. Students who wish to enter a dual program that involves the JD degree should contact the Admissions Office in the School of Law first. Dual programs are offered in the following fields.

Dual degree programs with other institutions. The dual 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 dual 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 dual 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.

Combined JD/PhD Programs

The School of Law and the Graduate School offer programs leading to the Doctor of Jurisprudence and the Doctor of Philosophy with a major in government, history, or philosophy. These programs are designed to prepare students for academic careers in law or the cognate discipline or both. By counting law courses toward the PhD and courses in the cognate discipline toward the JD, students can save up to a year of coursework. The law school provides financial aid to students at the dissertation stage of the program. More information on the JD/PhD in government is available at (512) 471-5121; and on the JD/PhD in history, at (512) 471-6421; more information is also available on the JD/PhD in philosophy.

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, nonprofit and philanthropic studies, presidential studies, urban studies, and women's and gender studies. Dispute resolution, gerontology, nonprofit and philanthropic studies, and women's and gender studies are also available as master's portfolio programs.

Information about portfolio programs is available from the Office of Graduate Studies.

Intellectual Entrepreneurship Program

The Intellectual Entrepreneurship (IE) program is a University-wide program administered through the Office of Graduate Studies. The IE program's goal is to enable students to be accountable for their education and to make informed choices about where and how to use their research expertise. The program provides graduate students with opportunities to use their expertise to make a difference in their disciplines and in the community. Through a variety of graduate-level, cross-disciplinary courses and internships in topics such as writing, pedagogy, communication, ethics, consulting, technology, and entrepreneurship; the Preparing Future Faculty program; the Graduate Writing Project; a consulting service that delivers the IE program to individual labs, centers, and other units through collaboration with faculty members and students; synergy groups designed to help solve community problems; and a variety of workshops, the program seeks to help students become citizen-scholars.

Graduate School courses that support the IE program are described in chapter 4. A complete description of IE initiatives is available from the Office of Graduate Studies.

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 the Registrar
University of Texas at Austin

12 August 2003. Office of the Registrar

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