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You can read the
Dean's Scholar's Brochure
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The Dean's Scholars Program
The Dean's Scholars Honors Program offers
exceptional science and mathematics
majors a unique opportunity to enrich
their undergraduate education in the
College of Natural Sciences at the
University of Texas at Austin.
Since 1983, the Program has challenged
talented and highly motivated
undergraduates by introducing them to
cutting-edge research and placing them
into contact with superior students
with similar aptitudes and interests.
Dean’s Scholars experience the dual
advantage of involving themselves in a
smaller group of select students
while enjoying the opportunities of a
large institution.
Advantages
Participation in the Dean's Scholars
Program, which continues throughout
an undergraduate's career at UT,
offers a number of important
advantages. Specifically, students
-
work directly with faculty involved
at the forefront of scientific
research. Students pursue their own
research projects under the
direction of distinguished faculty
members;
-
pursue any of the more than thirty
majors offered by departments within
the College of Natural Sciences. Some
students are also enrolled in the Plan
II Honors Program;
-
gain an important research perspective.
Dean's Scholars view science as dynamic
--the living, changing exploration of
nature.
Selection
The Dean's Scholars Program is highly
selective, admitting about thirty
freshmen each year, as well as a small
number of upper-class students. Dean's
Scholars seek the intellectual challenge
and stimulation of an interdisciplinary
program emphasizing scientific research.
Although Dean's Scholars typically
achieve high SAT scores and class
ranking, admission is not based solely
on these criteria, but more importantly,
on evidence of a student's interest in
science, research, and individual
discovery. As Dean's Scholars, students
are oriented toward research, encouraged
through their work to perceive the world
as presenting questions that can be
answered through experimentation.
Interaction
Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the
program is the opportunity for superior
students representing diverse majors to
interact with each other through
academic pursuits and frequent informal
social activities. In weekly seminars,
Dean's Scholars explore contemporary
issues and ideas in science and are
introduced to the research activities
of the faculty. These seminars are
supplemented by weekly, informal
lunches attended by faculty members
from throughout the University
community. Weekend field trips
traditionally include visits to the
McDonald Observatory in the Davis
Mountains and to the Marine Science
Institute at Port Aransas. Through
these and other special activities,
Dean's Scholars gain an appreciation
for the research of their fellow
students and more fully recognize how
their own individual research fits into
the entire scientific enterprise.
Results
Recent graduates of the Dean's Scholars
Program have entered Ph.D. programs in
scientific disciplines at leading
institutions world-wide. Some have
entered M.D./Ph.D. programs.
Additionally, Dean's Scholars have won
some of the most prestigious and
competitive graduate fellowships,
including Marshall Scholarships for
study at Cambridge University and
National Science Foundation Fellowships.
Career Preparation
The Dean's Scholars program is founded
on the principle that the challenge of
education is to understand nature and
humanity's part in it. As such, the
investigation of nature must be the
common quest for students and faculty
alike. Science is one of the most
important intellectual achievements of
human history: it is also a central
determiner of human development. The
Dean's Scholars Program desires
students interested in individual
discovery and in acquiring a broad
view of how science fits into the
community--the broad view necessary
for assuming important scientific
careers and, eventually, leadership
positions in the scientific community.
For more information, contact:
Alan Kaylor Cline
David Bruton, Jr.,
Professor of
Computer Sciences
and Professor of
Mathematics
Director, the Dean's
Scholars Program
cline@cs.utexas.edu