Additional Information for Prospective MPA Program Students
The University
The University of Texas at Austin was established in 1876. Classes began in the fall of
1883 with eight faculty members and 221 students. Today, close to 2,300
faculty, including Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel laureates, and members of the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, teach
50,000 students from all fifty states and over one hundred countries.
The University of Texas at Austin is a public institution, established by state constitution. It offers undergraduates nearly 2,700 courses in eleven colleges and schools that provide over 90 bachelor-level degree programs. Graduate study is available in more than 90 fields.
The University is located in the capital city of the state of Texas. Austin lies at an altitude of about 150 meters amid the rolling hills of central Texas, surrounded by a number of rivers and lakes. The population of the Austin metropolitan area is about 1.1 million. The climate is considered temperate; the temperature seldom falls below freezing in the winter months of December through March, but consistently reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees centigrade) or higher in the summer months of June through August.
The academic year at The University is composed of a fall semester, a spring semester, and a summer session. The fall semester begins in late August and ends in late December; the spring semester begins about mid-January and ends in late May. The summer session consists of two six-week terms in sequence. Students are not required to enroll during the summer session.
Course credit at The University is measured in semester hours. Most courses meet three hours a week during the fall and spring semesters and have a credit value of three hours for one semester. For each hour a course meets, an average of two hours of preparation is expected of the student. The MPA program varies in length from 37 semester credit hours to 43 semester credit hours, depending on a student's undergraduate coursework preparation.
For more information about the University of Texas at Austin, including photos of the campus and information about UT’s location, history, and student life, please visit this website: http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/index.html.
Housing
Because University housing is quite limited, most MPA
students live off-campus. The following are suggestions for locating both on-
and off-campus housing:
- Apply as early as possible for on-campus
housing! University housing
(family housing and dormitories for single students) is extremely limited, and
demand exceeds the number of available spaces. Application for housing is
separate from application for University admission. Acceptance to The
University is acknowledged by the Office of Admissions and is not a
prerequisite to apply for housing. Although applications are accepted as long
as space is available, it is not wise to wait until notification of admission
is received to make preliminary housing arrangements. Only full-time students
are eligible to live in University Housing.
The University Apartments are approximately six miles from the University campus. There are shuttle bus stops located throughout the Brackenridge complex and along the streets for Gateway and Colorado. Students must be married and living with their spouses, or be a single parent who is head of the household and living with the children. A limited number of single graduate apartments are available. Other extended family members may be allowed to reside with you under certain circumstances. For more information visit: University Apartment website.
- The Division of Housing and Food Service maintains
a partial listing of off-campus residences; however, The University accepts
no responsibility for the terms of rental or the accommodations offered.
Off-campus housing must be arranged through individual managers of each unit.
For additional information,
email housing@austin.utexas.edu. You can also call
(512) 471-3136.
- Select a place within the UT shuttle route or Capital
Metro route. UT shuttles run more frequently than the Capital Metro buses, but both
are free to UT students. You can find the UT shuttle and Capital Metro routes
at: http://www.utexas.edu/parking/transportation/shuttle/index.html
or
http://www.capmetro.org/riding/schedulesandmaps.asp. Although you may want to drive
to UT, parking is limited and the available options are expensive, therefore,
having the shuttle available is a good idea.
- Utilize apartment finder services to assist you in your search. Locator services can be found in the yellow pages or on the Internet. You should not be asked to pay for this service, as the realtor receives his/her commission through the apartment complex.
- For more relocation information, please visit our website at: http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/mpa/traditional/admit/relocate.asp.
- Search for housing in the classified ads in the local and
campus newspapers:
www.longhornliving.org
www.statesmanapartmentsearch.com
www.austinchronicle.com/class
www.dailytexanonline.com
