University of Texas System
The University of Texas System is a public university system in the U.S. state of Texas. It includes nine universities and five independent health institutions. The UT System is headquartered in Downtown Austin. It is the largest university system in Texas with 250,000+ enrolled students, 21,000+ employed faculty, 83,000+ health care professionals, researchers and support staff. The UT System's $47.5 billion endowment is the largest of any public university system in the United States.
Component institutions
Academic institutions
The University of Texas System includes nine universities, each of which confers its own degrees.Addition of Stephen F. Austin State University
On November 29, 2022, the Board of Regents of Stephen F. Austin State University announced their decision to accept an invitation to join the UT System. This decision occurred following an announcement at the start of the fall semester by SFA President Steve Westbrook that the board was considering joining a system. At the time, Stephen F. Austin was one of two independent public universities in Texas, alongside Texas Southern University. The Texas A&M University System, the Texas Tech University System, and the Texas State University System all extended invitations as well. The decision to join the UT System was made following a process that included faculty, staff, student, and alumni input. Stephen F. Austin's addition to the UT System was approved by the Texas Legislature during the 2023 session. The identically worded House and Senate bills that would formally add SFA to the UT System specified that SFA would retain its name, but with the phrase "a member of The University of Texas System" appended to the legal school name. They also stated that SFA would be technically dissolved and then immediately reconstituted as a member of the UT System. The Senate unanimously passed its bill on April 16, 2023, and the House passed its version on April 26. Governor Greg Abbott signed the measure into law on May 10.UT Brownsville and UT Pan American (UTRGV) merger
On June 14, 2013, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed a law officially approving the creation of a new university in South Texas within the UT System and replacing UT Brownsville and UT Pan American. The initiative resulted in a single institution, including University of [Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine|a medical school], spanning the entire Rio Grande Valley, with a presence in each of the major metropolitan areas of Brownsville, Edinburg, Harlingen, and McAllen. On December 12, 2013, the UT Board of Regents voted to name the new university the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The new university began full operation in the 2015–16 school year.| Official name | Official abbreviations | Location | Founded | Joined system | Merged | Refs |
| The University of Texas at Brownsville | UTB UT Brownsville | Brownsville | 1973 | 1991 | 2015 | |
| The University of Texas–Pan American | UTPA UT Pan American | Edinburg | 1927 | 1989 | 2015 |
UT Tyler and UTHSC Tyler merger
In December 2019, the UT System Board of Regents unanimously agreed to merge UT Health [East Texas - North Campus|The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler] under The University of Texas at Tyler, creating a single unified institution. Two months later, the UT System formally announced its intention to establish a new medical school that will be added under the new unified UT Tyler administration. It will be the first medical school in the East Texas region.On December 8, 2020, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Schools approved a plan to merge UT Tyler and UTHSCT. UTHSCT will retain its status as a health-related institution but will now come under the administration of UT Tyler. The UT System Board of Regents met in late December 2020 and took action on the implementation of the merger which began on January 1, 2021.
On January 4, 2021, the Board of Regents installed Kirk A. Calhoun, M.D. as president of the newly aligned UT Tyler and UTHSCT. As of January 4, these two institutions are officially one. On January 15, 2021 the institution publicly named the new line of executive leadership for the merged institution.
The medical school opened in 2023.
| Official name | Official abbreviations | Location | Founded | Joined system | Merged | Refs |
| The University of Texas at Tyler | UTT UT Tyler | Tyler | 1971 | 1979 | 2021 | |
| The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler | UTHSCT UT Health Tyler | Tyler | 1943 | 1977 | 2021 |
UTSA and UTHSCSA merger
In 2010, a study was commissioned to explore the possibility of merging UT San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio. Officials ultimately decided against it, citing significant costs, administrative challenges, and different university cultures. In 2016, an op-ed published in the San Antonio Express-News urged the UT System Board of Regents to reconsider their decision. It was announced in August 2024 that the Board of Regent voted to merge the two into one university, a merger completed on September 1, 2025Health institutions
The University of Texas System has 4 independent health institutions. None are officially associated with any of the 4-year academic institutions, though some may have close relationships or special joint programs with them due to geographical location.UT MD Anderson Cancer Center is one of the six schools at UT Health Science Center at Houston. Despite being officially associated under UT Houston, the UT System lists MD Anderson as a separate health institution due to its unique specialization.
Additionally, there are medical schools at UT Austin and UT Rio Grande Valley that are not directly affiliated with any of the independent health institutions. The third medical school organized under an academic institution in the UT System is UT Tyler Medical School, which began operations in 2023. UTSA and UTHSA completed their merger in 2025.
Medical schools within academic institutions
Attempted academic and health institutions mergers
Dallas–Fort WorthIn 2001 the 77th Texas Legislature proposed HB 3568, which would have merged all Dallas–Fort Worth UT System institutions under the name "The University of Texas at Dallas". UTD's Richardson campus would have been designated as the main campus, UTA's Arlington campus would have become a satellite campus, and UTSW's Dallas campus would have become the merged university's medical school. The purpose was to help the metroplex gain one unified flagship-level university, but the House Bill ultimately failed to pass due to objections from UT Arlington and the lack of time to properly explain the complex process to state representatives.
Houston
In 2015, the UT System purchased 300 acres of land in the Houston area for $215 million for the development of a research campus, spearheaded by then-Chancellor William H. McRaven. While the UT System publicly denied plans to build a new university on the land, the land acquisition drew criticism from the University of Houston System and several Texas State Senators, notably John Whitmire, focusing on the UT System encroaching on the UH System, given the UT System's access to the Permanent University Fund, as well as the process by which the land was purchased. In 2017, the UT System announced it would be cancelling plans for the Houston campus.
Students
Racial and/or ethnic background
Demographic information of the total student population at all UT system academic and health institutions compared to 2020 US Census data.| UT System Students | Texas | US | |
| Asian | 14% | 5.7% | 6.3% |
| Black | 8% | 13.4% | 13.6% |
| Hispanic | 50% | 40.2% | 19.1% |
| White | 23% | 39.8% | 58.9% |
| International student | 3% | N/A | N/A |
| Other races or unknown | 3% | 0.9% | 2.1% |
Undergraduate student success metrics
Reported 2022 statistics of Texas residents that attended UT system academic institutions.| Official name | Abbrev. | Retention Rate | Graduation Rate | Graduation Rate | Avg. Student Loan Debt for Bachelor's | Median Income | Median Income | Median Income |
| Stephen F. Austin State University | SFA | 73% | 43% | 64% | $27,314 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | UTA UT Arlington | 74% | 38% | 65% | $20,183 | $60,676 | $69,029 | $71,901 |
| UT UT Austin | 93% | 74% | 91% | $22,044 | $52,084 | $71,614 | $88,825 | |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | UTD UT Dallas | 85% | 58% | 75% | $21,953 | $51,725 | $66,540 | $78,748 |
| The University of Texas at El Paso | UTEP UT El Paso | 75% | 24% | 50% | $20,952 | $40,146 | $54,294 | $58,937 |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | UTRGV UT Rio Grande Valley | 76% | 33% | 57% | $14,950 | $35,518 | $53,219 | $58,837 |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio | UTSA UT San Antonio | 80% | 39% | 67% | $21,147 | $40,143 | $58,625 | $64,866 |
| The University of Texas at Tyler | UTT UT Tyler | 61% | 51% | 61% | $19,701 | $53,243 | $59,622 | $66,116 |
| The University of Texas Permian Basin | UTPB UT Permian Basin | 65% | 27% | 47% | $19,930 | $52,750 | $59,650 | $63,574 |
Administration
The administrative offices are in Downtown Austin. The UT system approved moving the system headquarters in November 2012. Bonds from the UT System's endowment funded the construction of the new 19-story, headquarters, which had a price tag of $102 million. The UT System planned to lease a portion of the facility for shops and other offices, with the approximately remaining portion used for its own employees. The system headquarters opened on August 1, 2017.In July 2018, the Pentagon announced it had selected the UT System administrative building as the headquarters for the Army Futures Command, a new organization committed to coordinating modernization efforts and integrating innovation across the Army.
The University of Texas System was previously headquartered in O. Henry Hall in Downtown Austin. The system headquarters complex previously included multiple buildings, which had 550 employees in 2014. These facilities included O. Henry Hall, Claudia Taylor Johnson Hall, Ashbel Smith Hall, the Colorado Building, and the Lavaca Building,
In 2013 the UT system approved the demolitions of the Colorado Building and the Lavaca Building, and the new UT System headquarters was built where these buildings previously stood. The Texas State University System purchased O. Henry Hall in 2015 for $8.2 million; the UT System leased it and continued using it as its administrative headquarters prior to the 2017 completion of the UT System's current headquarters. The UT System leased the land containing Claudia Taylor Johnson Hall and Ashbel Smith Hall to Trammell Crow which is constructing a commercial property on the site that uses the facade of Johnson Hall. Ashbel Smith Hall was imploded on March 25, 2018.
Chancellors
The following persons have served as chancellor of the University of Texas System:| No. | Image | Chancellor | Term start | Term end | |
| 1 | James Pinckney Hart | July 24, 1950 | January 1, 1954 | ||
| acting | Logan Wilson | January 2, 1954 | September 30, 1954 | ||
| 2 | Logan Wilson | October 1, 1954 | March 31, 1961 | ||
| 3 | Harry Huntt Ransom | April 1, 1961 | December 31, 1970 | ||
| 4 | Charles A. LeMaistre | January 1, 1971 | July 31, 1978 | ||
| acting | E. Don Walker | August 1, 1978 | October 19, 1978 | ||
| 5 | E. Don Walker | October 19, 1978 | August 31, 1984 | ||
| 6 | Hans M. Mark | September 1, 1984 | August 31, 1992 | ||
| 7 | William H. Cunningham | September 1, 1992 | May 31, 2000 | ||
| interim | R. Dan Burck | June 1, 2000 | December 5, 2000 | ||
| 8 | R. Dan Burck | December 6, 2000 | July 31, 2002 | ||
| 9 | Mark G. Yudof | August 1, 2002 | April 30, 2008 | ||
| interim | Kenneth I. Shine | May 1, 2008 | February 1, 2009 | ||
| 10 | Francisco G. Cigarroa | February 2, 2009 | January 4, 2015 | ||
| 11 | William H. McRaven | January 5, 2015 | May 31, 2018 | ||
| interim | Larry R. Faulkner | June 1, 2018 | September 16, 2018 | ||
| 12 | James B. Milliken | September 17, 2018 | May 31, 2025 | ||
| interim | John Zerwas | June 1, 2025 | August 20, 2025 | ||
| 13 | John Zerwas | August 20, 2025 | present |
Table notes: