While University faculty and staff members give students academic advice and assistance, students are expected to take responsibility for their education and personal development. They must know and abide by the academic and disciplinary policies given in this catalog and in General Information, including rules governing quantity of work, the standard of work required to continue in the University, warning status and academic dismissal, and enforced withdrawal. Students must also know and meet the requirements of their degree program; must enroll in courses appropriate to the program; must meet prerequisites and take courses in the proper sequence to ensure orderly and timely progress; and must seek advice about degree requirements and other University policies when necessary.

The student must give correct local and permanent postal addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail address to the Office of the Registrar and must notify this office immediately of any changes. Official correspondence is sent to the postal or e-mail address last given to the registrar; if students have failed to correct this address, they will not be relieved of responsibility on the grounds that the correspondence was not delivered. Students may update their addresses and telephone numbers at the Office of the Registrar's website.

Students must register by the deadlines given in the Course Schedule and must verify their schedule of classes each semester, must see that necessary corrections are made, and must keep documentation of all schedule changes and other transactions.

Students should be familiar with the following sources of information:

Catalog

The University catalog is an official University publication describing academic programs, student services, general regulations, requirements and procedures.

The catalog of the University is the document of authority for all students. Any academic unit may issue additional or more specific information that is consistent with approved policy. However, the information in the catalog supersedes that issued by any other unit if there is a conflict between the two. The University reserves the right to change the requirements given in the catalog at any time.

The catalog consists of five issues: the Undergraduate Catalog, the Graduate Catalog, the Law School Catalog, the Medical School Catalog, and the General Information Catalog.

The Undergraduate Catalog is published in even-numbered years; the Graduate Catalog is published annually; the Law School Catalog is published in even-numbered years; the Medical School Catalog is published annually. These issues contain regulations and degree requirements that apply to undergraduate, graduate, School of Law, and School of Medicine students. Regulations are valid only for the academic years indicated by the dates in the title of each publication; for an explanation of the period for which degree requirements are valid, see the section “Graduation Under a Particular Catalog” in each issue.

The General Information Catalog, published annually, contains current and historical information about the University’s organization and physical facilities. It gives important information about academic policies and procedures that apply to all students for the academic year indicated in the title of the publication. It includes the official academic calendar, admission procedures and residence requirements, information about tuition and fees, and policies on quantity of work, grades and the grade point average, credit by examination and correspondence, adding and dropping courses, withdrawal from the University, and academic warning and dismissal. General Information is meant to be used along with each of the other issues; students must be familiar with the regulations given there and with those given in the issue that covers their degree program.

The lists of available course offerings for each academic unit are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change. They are superseded by course offerings published each semester in the Course Schedule.

Assistance in obtaining information about the University—including costs, refund policies, withdrawal, academic programs, the faculty, accreditation, and facilities and services for disabled persons—is available from Brenda Schumann, Assistant Vice Provost for Enrollment Services and University Registrar, at (512) 475-7510 and at The University of Texas at Austin, Office of the Registrar, PO Box 302666, Austin TX 78703.

Course Schedule

The Course Schedule is published by the Office of the Registrar and is available before registration for each semester. The Course Schedule includes information about registration procedures; times, locations, instructors, prerequisites, and special fees of classes offered; and advising locations.

Directory

The University directory gives physical and e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of students and faculty and staff members.

Website

The address for the University’s home page. In addition to the publications described above, the website includes sites maintained by departments, colleges, graduate programs, museums, libraries, research units, and student-service offices.

Office of Graduate Studies

The Office of Graduate Studies is the central source of information for graduate students. Doctoral and master’s degree evaluators provide information about procedures for submission of reports, theses, dissertations, and treatises, and the student services section assists with registration and related matters. Information for both prospective and current students is available online.

Graduate advisors, assistant graduate advisors, and graduate coordinators

The graduate advisor for each program is a faculty member designated to advise students and represent the Graduate School in matters pertaining to graduate study. They provide information about the program, including admission and degree requirements, and about fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships. The assistant graduate advisor, also a faculty member, serves in the absence of the graduate advisor. The graduate coordinator, a staff member who assists the graduate advisor and other faculty members in the administration of the program, also provides services to students.

Graduate Student Handbooks

Graduate student handbooks are published by the Graduate Studies Committee associated with each graduate degree program on an annual basis. The handbooks describe graduate degree requirements, program expectations, and deadlines; and they are intended to supplement information published in the Graduate Catalog. Graduate student handbooks are provided to all matriculating graduate students and all applicants on request.  Requirements may be changed from one student handbook to the next. A student is normally bound by the requirements of the handbook in force at the time of their first registration in the program; the student may choose, however, to fulfill the requirements of a subsequent handbook. If the student does not fulfill handbook requirements within six years of their first enrollment in the program, they are then bound by the requirements of a subsequent handbook. The student may choose the handbook in effect in any year in which they are enrolled in the program, within the six-year limit. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online at https://utexas.box.com/v/UTAustinGraduateHandbooks. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.