University of Texas—Austin is a public institution that was founded in 1883. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 40,492, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 437 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. University of Texas—Austin's ranking in the 2019 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 49. Its in-state tuition and fees are $10,606 (2018-19); out-of-state tuition and fees are $37,480 (2018-19).

The University of Texas—Austin is one of the largest schools in the nation. It’s divided into 18 schools and colleges, the biggest of which is the College of Liberal Arts. It also has highly ranked graduate programs, including the McCombs School of Business, Cockrell School of Engineering and School of Nursing. Students can participate in more than 1,300 clubs and organizations or in the sizable UT Greek system. The university has several student media outlets, and its sports teams are notorious competitors in the Division I Big 12 Conference. UT also offers hundreds of study abroad programs, with the most popular destinations being Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, France and China. Freshmen do not have to live on campus.