You may also request that a written application be mailed to your address.
To apply for admission to the Dean's Scholars Program, complete each of the text fields in this form and click the "Submit this application" button at the bottom.
Also, send us by postal mail a copy of your university transcript that is most recent.
Finally, ask two teachers, at least one of whom is a science or mathematics teacher, to complete the Faculty Reference forms. Most important is to have faculty who know you well. Subject to that, university faculty are preferred over high school faculty. The forms, as well as your transcript, should be sent directly to:
Dean's Scholars Program College of Natural Sciences The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 78712-1199
Full Name:
Email Address:
Social Security Number:
Date of Birth:
Postal Address: City, State, and Zip:
Phone:
Major(s):
1. List each school or community activity in which you have been involved during the last three years in order of their importance to you. Include your period of involvement and any positions you have held. Please list no more than ten.
2. List part-time or summer jobs, volunteer positions, or internships you have held during the last three years in order of their importance to you. Include your position, period of involvement, and hours per week. Please list no more than four.
3. List in order of their importance to you any significant honors and scholarships received during the last three years. Include the award sponsor, basis for the award (e.g. leadership, scholarship, need, etc.), and date received.
4. Identify your educational and career goals.
Note: Write a 300-500 word essay on Topic D below and another 300-500 word essay on Topic E. On-line composition of these essays is not recommended. There are two options for electronic submission of the essays:
Topic D - Critical Thinking Explain a belief you accepted at some time in your life but recently rejected on the basis of a rational process. You might choose your former belief in the existence of Santa Claus, for example, but you should remember that the rejection you discuss must have been made on a rational basis. Perhaps you changed your mind because of something you have heard, or because of some experience you have had; but for this essay you must go beyond reporting what you heard or describing what happened to you; you must display the process of reasoning that carried you to your new belief. In your essay, explain the belief itself, your former reasons for holding it, and, most important, the rational process that led you to reject it.
You may interpret "rejection" in a weak sense, such that you do not need to show that your former belief was false. For example, if you rejected "eating spinach makes me strong," you need not have come to the conclusion "eating spinach does not make me strong." All you need for this example is good reason for thinking that your information is not sufficient to support any conclusion as to whether or not spinach makes you strong. Please consider your topic carefully. We mentioned "Santa Claus" by way of illustration only. A good essay will use a serious belief that you have rejected recently.
Topic E - Critical Thinking Often a society faces a conflict between its belief system and its observation of evidence. Suppose you live in a valley that has been swept by a plague. The recent death of your parents has left you to be the leader of your village with responsibility for the welfare of its citizens. The accepted belief system for your village promotes the sacrifice of goats to avert the plague. A similar village at the other end of the valley has a similar belief system except that it has banned goat sacrifice. This other village has a much lower death toll from the plague than yours does. Write a well-organized essay describing how you as village leader would make a decision about further actions to avert the plague. As part of your paper, discuss possible schemes for gathering further information that would guide your village's decision about whether to continue goat sacrifices.
