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Explore Our Graduate Program

Program overview.

The graduate program in Physics at UT Austin provides exceptional academic training, preparing our students to lead as highly regarded scientists, educators, and professionals in academia, as well as in both the public and private sectors.

Located in a vibrant, green capital city, UT Physics is home to:

• 175 Graduate Students (largely out-of-state, including approx. 50% international students)  
• 400 Undergraduate Majors (predominantly in-state)  
• 55 Core Faculty (20% hired over the past 5 years) (including National Academy of Science members, a Nobel Laureate, and Breakthrough and Wolf Prize recipients; and 10 Women)  
• 30 Research Scientists  
• 23 Post-Docs  
• $11M Our Total Research Expenditures (for 2020–2021—the most recent available year; Department of Physics only)  
• 10 Areas of Breakthrough Research including both experimental and theoretical discovery in most of the areas below.

UT Austin and departmental facilities include the world’s most powerful academic supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), a machine shop, a student workshop, a low-temperature, and high-vacuum shop, world-class libraries, and the Texas Petawatt Laser.

This master program intends to provide guidance and assistance for students who have faced personal circumstances and challenges to pursue an advanced degree in physics.

In the grid below, you will find links to our research field profiles. Each profile contains a synopsis of the current subjects in which research is performed in each field, a list of current core faculty members participating in that research(both in Physics and in other departments, if applicable), links to UT center(s), and major collaboration websites (where applicable), and other relevant materials and links. These profiles are generally more up-to-date than most individual research group pages maintained by faculty.

Linked to the entry for each faculty member on the field profiles, you will find a downloadable Fact Sheet in pdf format—these Fact Sheets are updated at least annually and represent the most current information available concerning the work of each professor’s group, including: group statistics, names of current graduate students, names of past graduate students and their post-graduation placement information (where available), a summary of current research, and citations for the group’s most recent publications.

To aid in navigating the above research grid, here is a list of the research areas with a selection of the topics and collaborations pursued within each area by our faculty:

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics — cold atom physics, atom optics, quantum optics.

Biophysics — cell physics, soft matter, multicellular systems, active matter.

Condensed Matter/Solid-State Physics — nanoscience, scanning probe microscopies, quantum materials, ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy, quantum information, spintronics, superconductivity.

Cosmology & High Energy Theory — dark matter, inflation, CMB, dark energy, phenomenology, holography, string theory.

High Energy Particle Experiment — large-scale detectors, ATLAS, neutrinos, rare decays.

Gravitational Physics — gravitational waves, gravitational wave astrophysics, black holes, numerical relativity, LIGO, LISA.

High Energy-Density Science — high-intensity laser interactions with matter, shocks, high-density plasmas in magnetic fields, wakefield acceleration.

Nonlinear Dynamics — fluid mechanics, the mechanics of solids.

High Energy Nuclear Physics — Relativistic Heavy-Ion Experiments: STAR, sPHENIX (BNL), ALICE (LHC)

Plasma/Fusion Physics — ITER, space plasmas, General Atomics.

Culture, Community & Climate

In addition to the wide range of collaborative, interdisciplinary research opportunities we offer, we are also committed to, and fully embody the following:

• we fund all of our students, on a 12-month basis, for a minimum of five years;
• we continue to increase our already high program completion rate;
• we provide a high caliber of teaching and mentoring excellence both in and out of the classroom;
• we carefully foster a supportive, collegial environment;
• and we remain steadfastly determined to transform our discipline for the better and ensure experiences of welcome and belonging for everyone.

Degree Requirements

Here are a few highlights of our doctoral degree requirements:

• We have no written Qualifying Exam, instead, we have an oral Qualifier that includes a presentation of your research to date together with a question and answer period covering both your research and aspects of the pertinent physics.
• We offer flexibility for those who have already taken Core Courses previously.
• We allow students to petition for a course to count as an Advanced Course.
• We require only __ courses, including Advanced Courses in your research field.

We fund all of our students, on a 12-month basis, for a minimum of five years. The current 12-month stipend for Teaching Assistants and Graduate Research Assistants is $28,654 (this figure excludes tuition waivers and remission as well as insurance benefits which are part of every Financial Offer we make).

For more detailed information regarding available fellowships please see the Funding page on our Prospective Graduate Students site.

Among the 300 graduates of our doctoral degree program in the ten-year period between 2008 and 2018, 53.85% had their initial post-graduation employment in the Education sector (including university-based post-docs.), 14.23% in National Laboratories and research institutes, and 31.92% in the Private sector with their current employment distribution being 47.90%, 15.97%, and 36.13% respectively.

The Application Process

Annually, The Graduate School and the Department of Physics begins accepting applications for:

• Spring admission on 1 September ,
• and Fall admission on 1 October .

To be considered, all applications and their accompanying materials must be submitted before the application deadlines:

• 11:59 p.m. CDT on 1 October for Spring admission;
• and 11:59 p.m. CST on 1 December for Fall

We allow a grace period of precisely two (2) weeks following each of the above-posted deadlines for the uploading of Letters of Recommendation by your recommenders.

Our Graduate Recruitment Committee (GRC) conducts a holistic review of all application materials for indicators that the applicant possesses the essential qualities that will contribute to the successful completion of our degree program. No single factor leads to either accepting or excluding an applicant from admission.

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Welcome to the Chemistry Graduate Program!

The graduate program in Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin comprises about 200 graduate students and offers programs leading to the Ph.D. degree in four major areas of chemistry: analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry. In each specialization there are numerous programs of research directed by renowned chemists, many of whom are leaders in their respective fields. We encourage qualified and energetic prospective graduate students to join our program.

The University of Texas at Austin ranked in the top 50 of the world’s elite universities in the 2018 The Times Higher Education World University Rankings , considered one of the most authoritative assessments of universities.  UT Austin’s Chemistry graduate program is ranked among the top 15 departments in North America, according to U.S. News and World Report (2019 ed.), maintaining excellent standings in the traditional areas of chemistry (4 th in analytical, 16 th in organic, and 14 th in physical) and making significant contributions to the emergent areas of chemical biology and material science.  The Nature Index , a new ranking from the prestigious journal Nature , rates The University of Texas at Austin No. 22 among the world’s most productive scientific research institutions.  UT Austin Chemistry ranked 11 th most productive among US universities.

The faculty of the Chemistry Department have achieved many high honors, accolades, and awards. Faculty include 1 member of the National Academies, 1 fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1 winner of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, 1 winner of the Wolf Prize, 7 Regent’s Outstanding Teaching Award winners (highest among all UT departments), 1 member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, 1 winner of the National Medal of Science, and 1 winner of the Japan Prize. The department receives the highest average of total external funding per faculty member in the College of Natural Sciences.

Opportunities for interdisciplinary research are facilitated by research centers such as the Texas Materials Institute , the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology , and the Center for Nano-Molecular Science and Technology .

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PhD Program

The PhD is a research degree. Our PhD students also take courses, which give them the foundation on which to build their research programs. However, the overriding goal of the PhD program is to show students how to conduct outstanding research. We expect all our PhD students to become involved in research within their first semester (see Research Immersion below) and continue their involvement throughout their time at UT. To understand how our PhD students are involved in our research activities, browse our research web pages .

As a consequence of early immersion in research, our PhD students are often already recognized in the wider research community well before they graduate. They regularly travel to conferences, present papers, and often receive best paper awards.

Interested in applying? Visit our Prospective Students page for information about applying to our program.

Most PhD students receive financial support from the department. Please see the financial information page for more information about this.

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Doctoral Program

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Individual Development

Our doctoral degree program trains students in cutting-edge research to solve real-world problems. Our approach to coursework includes a Personal Learning Plan, which tailors educational experiences to meet individual needs. A student's coursework is selected in consultation with the student's supervisor, dissertation committee and the graduate advisor to ensure adequate breadth and depth of knowledge across our four primary research tracks . Students are encouraged to take advantage of on-campus professional development resources to aid in their individual development.

Graduates of our program are well-prepared for careers in academia, industry and government labs. 

Program Requirements

In addition to coursework requirements, students must complete a qualifying exam by the end of their first year in the program, a dissertation proposal between the second and third year, and a final oral defense typically at the end of the fifth year. All Ph.D. students in biomedical engineering are required to complete at least one semester as a teaching assistant. Students are holistically supported through a variety of opportunities, including training in the responsible conduct of research, creation of an individual development plan, graduate research seminars, professional development seminars and BMEntored—a peer mentorship program for first-semester doctoral students. Detailed information about program requirements are found in the Graduate Program Handbook .

Supervisor Selection 

To meet individual needs, our department supports both a direct match and rotation system for supervisor selection. Students may join labs of BME faculty and non-BME faculty who are members of our Graduate Studies Committee . Prospective students may contact faculty directly to inquire about open positions in each lab.

How to Apply

See our Admissions page to learn more about eligibility, application instructions, and application deadlines. 

Edward Castillo , Ph.D., Associate Chair of Graduate Education William J. Murray, Jr. Fellowship in Engineering #2

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Our Department

The core faculty of the Mathematics Department comprises around 50 tenured and tenure-track members who carry out research, supervise Ph.D. students, and teach graduate and undergraduate courses.   There are also a handful of postdoctoral researchers, including our Bing Instructors, and several emeritus faculty. 

As the flagship public university in Texas, a core part of our mission is teaching undergraduates from all over this huge and varied state.  While graduate students and tenure-stream faculty contribute a great deal to this mission, we also have a substantial body of instructional faculty members.  These highly-valued members of our department bringing excellence, commitment and innovation to their teaching.  They include faculty members with expertise in actuarial mathematics, among them Mark Maxwell, who directs the Actuarial Mathematics MA program.

The department has internationally recognized research groups in a number of overlapping areas:

• Applied and Computational Mathematics
• Probability and Financial Mathematics
• Algebra and number theory
• Groups and Dynamics

Our Ph.D. students carry out research in all of these areas.  In 2019, the groups in Topology, Analysis and Applied Math were ranked among the top 10 nationally by US News & World Reports.

The large Analysis group is a powerhouse for research in partial differential equations (PDE), as well as geometric analysis, the calculus of variations, and certain aspects of mathematical physics.  Among several outstanding researcher, endowed chair-holder Luis Caffarelli is renowned as one of the world’s leading mathematical analysts, while Philip Isett recently won a prestigious Clay Research Award.  The PDE of fluid dynamics and statistical physics are particular foci.  The group was awarded a 5-year Research Training Grant (RTG) by the NSF in 2018; activities supported financially by the RTG include research by US graduate students working in the area.

Faculty working in Applied and Computational Mathematics often have dual appointments at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences , an interdisciplinary institute for mathematical modeling and scientific computation.  These include endowed chair-holder Bjorn Engquist.  Research topics include numerical analysis, applied aspects of PDE, signal processing, and machine learning.  In 2020, UT Austin was selected by the NSF as the home of a national Artificial Intelligence institute, focused on machine learning; mathematics faculty such as Rachel Ward are strongly involved in this project. 

We also have faculty working on the mathematics of networks—notably, Simons Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering Chair François Baccelli—and on the mathematics of neuroscience. Closely connected, research in Probability at UT covers financial mathematics (with connections to the McCombs School of Business), network theory, combinatorics and theoretical probability.

Our Geometry group works on a broad swathe of mathematics including algebraic and differential geometry, mirror symmetry, algebraic topology, geometric representation theory, categorical and “derived” methods, and the mathematics of quantum field theory.  There is special strength in a nexus of ideas around algebraic geometry and mirror symmetry, notably represented in the work of endowed chair-holder and Clay Research Award recipient Bernd Siebert.  Research in Algebra overlaps with that in geometry, and also includes number theory, arithmetic geometry, and representation theory.

The Topology group has traditionally focused on low-dimensional topology, as in the work of endowed chair Cameron Gordon on 3-manifolds and knots.  A burgeoning Groups and Dynamics group has recently added to the department’s research portfolio.  The Topology and Groups and Dynamics groups were in 2019 jointly awarded a 5-year Research Training Grant by the NSF, on Groups and Dynamics , covering a nexus of ideas including the dynamics of group actions, fundamental groups in 3-manifold topology, and geometric structures on manifolds.

The Department of Mathematics offers the following degree programs:

• Ph. D. in Mathematics
• M. A. in Mathematics (Actuarial Focus)

Key People & committees

Graduate advisor.

The Graduate Advisor is a faculty member of the Mathematics Department who oversees the graduate program, especially its academic aspects.  The Graduate Advisor is typically appointed Associate Chair of Graduate Education by the CNS.  Responsibilities include student welfare, monitoring of students’ academic and professional performance, advocating for students and for an equitable climate in the program, and leading the recruitment process for new graduate students.  The Graduate Advisor coordinates with the CNS and Graduate School on matters related to the graduate program, and works closely with the Graduate Program Administrator on the running of the program. 

Students may consult the Graduate Advisor on academic aspects of the program and issues of welfare and well-being, and in situations where a dispute with a faculty member (such as an academic advisor or the instructor for a course in which the student is the TA) arises.

Assistant Graduate Advisor

The Assistant Graduate Advisor provides additional support in the areas of student welfare and recruitment.

Graduate Program Administrator

The Graduate Program Administrator, sometimes called the Graduate Coordinator, is responsible for the administration of the graduate program.  Important aspects include matters related to appointments and employment, benefits, and course registration.  This role is carried out in close consultation with the Graduate Advisor, and also involves coordination with the CNS and Graduate School.

Students should consult the Graduate Program Administrator on queries and concerns of an administrative, rather than academic, nature.

Actuarial Program Director

The Actuarial Program Director is responsible for academic aspects of, and recruitment to, the MA program with focus in Actuarial Studies.

The Graduate Studies Committee

The Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) comprises the tenured and tenure-track faculty of the Mathematics department, as well as certain faculty members from other departments of the university (typically working in fields closely allied to Mathematics).  Only members of the GSC are permitted to supervise Ph.D. students.   The GSC is responsible for major strategic decisions concerning the graduate program.  The GSC delegates some of its responsibilities to the Administrative Subcommittee of the Graduate Studies Committee (or ASGSC).   The ASGSC is currently chaired by Gordan Žitkoviç ( [email protected] ). The responsibilities of the ASGSC include the administration of Prelim exams.  The ASGSC also adjudicates when a student requests an exception to program rules, and in the rare event of a dispute between a graduate student and the Graduate Advisor.

Department of Mathematics The University of Texas at Austin 2515 Speedway, PMA 8.100 Austin, TX 78712

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Communication Studies

Graduate program in communication studies.

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What We Study

Graduate students work closely with faculty advisors and fellow student scholars to develop their research and teaching skills in a collaborative environment.

• Areas of Study
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Graduate Admissions

Admission to our program is competitive and we welcome all prospective students to explore our requirements below.

• Admissions Requirements
• Frequently Asked Questions
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Deadline for Fall applications is December 1st of each year. We do not admit for Spring terms.

Fall 24 applications are closed. The deadline was Dec. 1st 2023

Graduate Program

Welcome to graduate program of the Department of Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin!

The Sociology Department at UT Austin is one of the largest and most highly ranked Sociology departments in the country. Its faculty and students come from every part of the United States and the world, including the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, the People's Republic of China, Mexico, Chile, Turkey, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Israel, and others. Its outstanding group of faculty offers an excellent range of opportunities - both inside and outside the classroom - for students . The US News and World Report Guide to Graduate Departments ranks UT Austin Sociology 6th among public universities, and tied for 11th among all universities. This high esteem, along with the high quality of life in the Austin metropolitan area, makes it easy to see why the Department has become an extremely attractive place for some of the leading young sociologists and graduate students to make UT Austin their home.

Graduate Program Leadership

Graduate Program Administrator Anne Bormann RLP 3.732 | (512) 232-6304 | email

Graduate Studies Committee Chair and Graduate Advisor, Interim Ari Adut RLP 3.518 | (512) 232-4284 | email

Associate Graduate Studies Committee Chair (Instruction) Dr. Ari Adut RLP 3.518 | (512) 232-4284 | email

Associate Graduate Advisor (Students) Dr. Néstor Rodríguez RLP 3.528 | (512) 232-8072 | email

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Through assistant instructor, teaching assistant, and research assistant appointments, as well as a myriad of University, government, and private fellowships, the Department is typically successful in funding 100% of its graduate students during the academic year.

Graduate students have also been extremely competitive for prestigious dissertation fellowships, internships, postdoctoral fellowships, and on academic and non-academic job markets. Students have received the William Powers Jr. Fellowship, the Harry E. and Bernice M. Moore Fellowship, the Donald D. Harrington Fellowship, the Lora Romero Memorial Award, the ASA Minority Fellowship, the ASA Medical Sociology Award, the Academic Keys Future Faculty Grant Award, and numerous article and presentation awards. In 2011 the Department established The Norval Glenn Prize , in honor of Professor Emeritus Norval Glenn and his many contributions to the field of family sociology, to award a financial prize to The University of Texas at Austin graduate student with the best paper in the area of family sociology. Please visit the funding section of the website for a more detailed description of these opportunities.

The Sociology Department at UT Austin offers an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Sociology. It places tremendous value on core training in sociological theory, methods, and statistics at the graduate level. It builds on that core with a variety of course offerings in areas such as criminology and deviance, demography, education, family, gender, health, politics and development, race and ethnicity, and social stratification.

The Department's faculty members are extremely research-active, placing great value on not only disseminating social scientific knowledge but also producing such knowledge - typically working alongside students. Faculty and students regularly publish articles in the leading general and specialty journals of the discipline, and books in leading scholarly presses; many also have their work funded by grants from the federal government and private foundations. Faculty and students regularly present at conferences throughout the country and in international settings, and are actively sought out by policymakers for advice and by the press for the public's better understanding of social trends and issues. While faculty provide strong academic instruction in the classroom, they work very closely with students in the research arena, with many co-authored publications and presentations resulting from faculty-student collaborations in outlets such as the American Sociological Review , Demography , Social Forces , and the Latin American Research Review , and in conferences at the American Sociological Association, the Population Association of America, and many others.

The Department's faculty have won numerous awards, including the Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award, the SWS Distinguished Feminist Lecturership, the American Society of Criminology Fellowship, the Warren E. Miller Award, the Liberal Arts Pro Bene Meritis Award, PAA and SSHD Early Career Achievement Awards, ASA Distinguished Scholarly Book Awards, the Tech Innovation Special Achievement Award, and many more. In addition, the Department has hosted editorships to many internationally renowned journals, including Qualitative Sociology , Gender & Society , the Journal of Health and Social Behavior , and the Journal of Marriage and Family . The Sociology Department and the Population Research Center also house the Urban Ethnography Lab , which aims to forge strong ties between the fields of demography and ethnography. The faculty and research sections on this website provide a more in-depth look at the areas of specialization and research activity of a productive and diverse group of scholars.

The Department of Sociology is committed to placing its Ph.D. graduates in influential academic, government, and nonprofit organizations. A number of professional development resources and workshops are available throughout the year offering guidance in the preparation of CVs, research and teaching statements, writing samples, and job talks.

In recent years, Ph.D. graduates from the program have won postdoctoral fellowships at Brown University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of California at Berkeley, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Harvard University, Princeton University, and more. Ph.D. graduates also now serve on the faculty at many prestigious universities around the country, including Princeton University, Duke University, UCLA, Penn State University, Rice University, and many more. Many others hold important research positions in federal government, state government, and private settings, such as the United Nations, the US Bureau of the Census, the Urban Institute, and the Alan Guttmacher Institute.

Visitors are encouraged to explore the webpages of faculty and students to look at their research and teaching interests, to visit the admissions section if interested in applying, and to contact the graduate program administrator with any questions.

Admissions & Enrollment Statistics

Each year, the Graduate School publishes statistics detailing the number of students who apply to, are admitted to and enroll in its programs for the summer and fall semesters (S/Fall). These statistics offer insight into the programs' selectivity and yield rates. Also published are the average grade-point averages and test scores for each admissions cycle.

Please note that the following reports do not include students applying for readmission, to change their graduate major, or as part of a University affiliated exchange program.