University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin)

The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (Cockrell School of Engineering) at UT Austin offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Aerospace Engineering.

The university offers two design track options at the undergraduate level -  atmospheric flight and space flight. The undergraduate program of the department is ranked in the top ten programs of the nation. The specialization tracks for the MS degree include Aerothermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics, Controls, Autonomy and Robotics, and Orbital Mechanics.

MS is a research-based program. Center for Aeromechanics Research and Center for Space Research (CSR) are the affiliated research facilities that have allowed the department to carry out cutting-edge research. The department also offers a Master's in Engineering Mechanics programs. 

Areas of Expertise: Structural Dynamics; Propulsion and Energy; Computational Mechanics and Applied Mathematics; Aerothermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics/Combustion; Controls, Autonomy, and Robotics; Orbital Mechanics, Space Research and Remote Sensing; Solid Mechanics and Engineered Materials; Computational Mechanics and Solids, Structures and Materials

List of Labs: Center for Space Research; Institute for Computational Engineering & Sciences; Center for Mechanics of Solids, Structures & Materials

The School of Architecture at UT Austin is known for its uniqueness and efficiency of designs and cultural sensitivity. It offers 5-year B.Arch., 4-year BS in Architectural Engineering with an additional option of Architecture History track, 6-year dual professional degree (B.Arch./BS) offered jointly with Cockrell School of Engineering, and 5-year dual degree (B.Arch./BA) jointly with the College of Liberal Arts. Graduates may opt for a professional M.Arch. or a non-professional Master of Advanced Architectural Design (MAAD).

The school also offers 7 Master’s tracks including two interdisciplinary degree options. The School is known to instill in students the design studio culture for a smooth transition to the professional world.

Areas of Expertise: Structural Engineering; Geotechnical Engineering; Sustainable Systems; Environmental and Water Resources Engineering; Construction Engineering and Project Management; Mechanics, Uncertainty, and Simulation in Engineering; Building Energy and Environments; Transportation Engineering; Infrastructure Materials Engineering

McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering of the Cockrell School of Engineering is known for its industry-oriented courses in Biotechnology at the graduate level. The Master’s program is a research-based course with a variety of in-vogue focus areas.

These include Protein: Engineering, Biomolecular Engineering, Nanotechnology, Drug Design, Biosensors, and Biomaterials.

Faculty members and researchers are regular contributors to some of the prestigious journals such as Science, Nature, Nature Biotechnology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The courses are designed to be industry-driven catering to the needs of life sciences and pharmaceutical industry.  

McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering is known for programs and courses that go beyond the domain of chemistry. It offers undergraduate and graduate (with research) programs.

Research at the department is geared to contribute to areas such as:  Polymers, Process Engineering, Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials Chemistry, and Environmental Engineering.

The research funding for the department stands at 21 million dollars annually. Researchers and faculty from the department have contributed to specific fields such as glucose monitoring, cancer therapy, and nanocrystals over the past decade. The department is a participant in 7 on-going interdisciplinary research programs that are propelled by over a dozen research centers and laboratories.

Areas of Expertise: CO2 Sequestration;Biotechnology; Modeling, Simulation and Theory; Formation Evaluation and Petrophysics; Unconventional and Conventional Natural Gas Engineering; Surface and Interface Science; Environmental Engineering and Science; Reservoir Engineering and Improved Oil Recovery; Drilling and Completions; Reservoir Geomechanics; Hydraulic Fracturing; Remote Control and Automation of Drilling Operations; Production Engineering; Reservoir Simulation; Process Systems Engineering; Advanced, Electronic and Polymer Materials

List of Labs: Center for Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering; Texas Institute of Drug & Diagnostics Development; Center for Energy & Environmental Resources

The Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at UT Austin offers state-of-the-art undergraduate and graduate programs in civil engineering and environmental engineering. Its wide range of graduate specializations is the foundation on which the department has made itself a promising destination for young talents across the globe. Besides BS and MS in Civil Engineering, the department also offers a Ph.D.

The Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (Cockrell School of Engineering) also offers a BS in Environmental Engineering. The program covers areas pertaining to the most pressing needs of humanity such as air and water quality, engineering for managing and treating polluted systems and sustainable energy. Graduates have the option of pursuing a research-based Master’s or doctoral research program with specializations in Building Energy and Environments, Environmental and Water Resources, Sustainable Systems or the relationship between Food, Energy and Water. 9 specialist research centers and laboratories push the frontiers of research at the department. 

Areas of Expertise: Structural Engineering; Geotechnical Engineering; Sustainable Systems; Environmental and Water Resources Engineering; Construction Engineering and Project Management; Mechanics, Uncertainty, and Simulation in Engineering; Building Energy and Environments; Transportation Engineering; Infrastructure Materials Engineering

List of Labs: Center for Transportation Research; Phil M. Ferguson Structural Engineering Lab; Construction Industry Institute;

The Computer Science Department of the College of Natural Sciences is known for a faculty expert at moulding students for the yet untapped areas of Computer Sciences and churn out leaders of the global IT industry. Undergraduate concentrations include the in-demand Big Data, Mobile Computing, Game Development, Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity, etc.

Degree plan options are: BS, BA, Bachelors of Science and Arts (BSA), BS (teaching), 5-year BS/MS and Turing Scholars Honors BS for outstanding students.

The 3 options for MS include: coursework based, thesis based and online. The department also offers a Ph.D. program. AI, Graphics and Visualization and Data Mining are amongst the 12 focus areas for research.

Areas of Expertise: Theoretical Computer Science; Security; Graphics and Visualization; Artificial Intelligence; Operating Systems, Distributed Systems, & Networking; Bioinformatics/Computational Biology/Scientific Computing; Model-Driven Engineering/Computer Architecture; Programming Languages and Implementation; Formal Methods; Data Mining, Machine Learning, & Natural Computation

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Cockrell School of Engineering has the reputation of being a trend-setter in Electrical Engineering courses. It offers BS, MS and 5-year integrated BS/MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering. The academic tracks for MS and Ph.D. are Decision, Information and Communications, Biological applications of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Electromagnetics and Acoustics, Energy Systems, Architecture, Computer Systems and Embedded Systems, Integrated Circuits and Systems, Quantum Electronics and Optics, Software Systems and Solid-State Electronics. 20 dedicated research centers and 32 specialized labs make the department a leading market-oriented research facility in the US.

Areas of Expertise: Biomedical Engineering; Energy Systems; Computer Architecture and Embedded Processors and systems; Plasma, Quantum Electronics and Optics; Electromagnetics and Acoustics; Decision, Information & Communications Engr: Communications, Networks, Syst, Controls, Signal, Image & Video Proc, Comp Vision, Machine Learning, Big Data; Digital and Mixed-Signal Circuit and System Design; Solid-State Electronics; Software Engineering and Systems

List of Labs: Microelectronics Research Center

Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering (Cockrell School of Engineering) offers specialized credential programs at the undergraduate level like Undergraduate Certificate in Industrial and Systems Engineering and MS and Ph.D. programs in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering.

The focus areas at the undergraduate level are:

operations research modeling

simulation modeling

facility planning

logistics

production engineering

inventory management and application of statistics in manufacturing.

MS and Ph.D. students focus on industrial design, installation of integrated systems, industrial policies and industrial organization.

List of Labs: Nanomanufacturing Systems for Mobile Computing and Mobile Energy Technologies

The Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at UT Austin offers an undergraduate certificate in Advanced Materials Engineering under its Bridges to the Future program. It is an industry-oriented program that includes project work.

The department also offers a research-based MS in Engineering with a specialization in Materials Science and Engineering. Ph.D. students can opt for research in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering. Texas Materials Institute (TMI) offers a certificate in Nanotechnology to doctoral research students.

The thrust areas for research include: energy materials, structural materials, electronic and photonic materials, polymers, biomaterials, and computational materials science. Latest research equipment for atomic force microscopy and x-ray scattering are available at the institute.

List of Labs: Texas Materials Institute

The J. Mike Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering is one of the most prestigious departments of UT Austin for its emphasis on interdisciplinary research, market-oriented approach and project-based learning. BS in Mechanical Engineering students can expand the scope of their program by choosing concentrated certificate programs that include areas like Sustainable systems, Mechatronics, robotics, and manufacturing.

The tracks available to MS students are Acoustics, Manufacturing Design, Dynamic Systems and Control, Thermal and Fluid Systems and Biomechanical Engineering. Ph.D. students can choose to focus on areas like Biomechanics and Biomedicine, Robotics and Intelligent Mechanical Systems, Acoustics or Thermal fluids and Transport phenomena. Research at the department is propelled by 7 specialist centers and over a dozen labs. MS offered by the department is with thesis and nonthesis options.

Areas of Expertise: Manufacturing and Design; Materials Science and Engineering; Thermal and Fluid Systems; Operations Research and Industrial Engineering; Nuclear and Radiation Engineering; Dynamic Systems and Control

List of Labs: Center for Electromechanics

The College of Natural Sciences at UT Austin offers a plethora of courses in Pure Sciences. The Department of Astronomy offers BA, BS, BS (honors), BSA in Astronomy and BS in Astronomy and Physics. It also offers Master’s (with research) in Astronomy and Ph.D. The Department of Chemistry offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral research programs in Chemistry. The Department of Mathematics offers BA Mathematics, BA Teaching, BSA Mathematics, BS Actuarial Science, BS Teaching, BS Mathematics, BS Mathematics Honors.

MA (Actuarial) and Ph.D. in Mathematics are also available in the department. The Department of Statistics and Data Science offers an MS and Ph.D. in Statistics besides undergraduate certificates in Scientific Computing and Data Science and Applied Statistical Modeling.

The Department of Physics offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs in Physics, while the Department of Molecular Biosciences offers undergraduate programs which are:

BS in Biology

Microbiology

BS in Biology

Cell and Molecular Biology

BS in Biology

Plant Biology

BS in Biochemistry

BSA in Biochemistry and graduate programs in Biochemistry

Cell and Molecular Biology

Microbiology

Plant Biology

Neuroscience

Ecology

Evolution and Behavior.