The Graduate School
Why UT Graduate School?
The Graduate School was established in 1909, although graduate work had been offered since 1883. Almost 12,000 graduate students are enrolled and approximately 2,500 master's degrees and 800 doctoral degrees are awarded annually. The university awards the second largest number of doctoral degrees in the United States.
In addition to the outstanding education that students receive in over 100 graduate programs at UT, the Graduate School offers students the opportunity to supplement their discipline-specific credentials with knowledge and skills designed to prepare one for the success of academic and professional life after UT.
The Graduate School has a program in Professional Development and Community Engagement (PDCE) which includes a nationally recognized Preparing Future Faculty Program. Through this program graduate students may enroll in cross-disciplinary courses (GRS). The purpose of these classes is to bring together students from a variety of disciplines to discuss and gain hands-on experience with communication and pedagogical skills necessary for a successful academic career--skills that all too frequently are assumed to be learned by osmosis. Beyond professional enrichment, these courses have given university students a greater sense of community, and an increased awareness of and appreciation for diverse intellectual perspectives. PDCE also offers a number of workshops each semester on topics of interest to graduate students.
Moreover, graduate students, concurrent with earning a master's or doctoral degree, are allowed to earn certification in a master's or doctoral portfolio program--a cross-disciplinary area of inquiry. These cross-disciplinary programs are designed to give doctoral or master's students both breadth and depth in their scholarly training and will permit some students with degrees in highly esoteric areas of study to supplement their degrees with a more applied credential.