Resources at UT Dallas
International Center
Nearly 6,000 international students representing more than 100 countries call UT Dallas home. The International Center provides cultural, social, and transitional programs to help international students succeed academically, personally, and professionally. Programs include cultural festivals, English support, local trips, spouse and family events, and American culture Exposure.
Orbit: Keeping New Comets on Course
Orbit helps all new Comets—freshman, transfer, international, and graduate students—engage, explore, and discover pathways to success during their first year at UT Dallas. The Orbit program for graduate students will focus on enrichment through pre-orientation eLearning modules that present information related to: research opportunities and engaging with faculty, student volunteerism opportunities, and other engagement opportunities specifically geared toward graduate students.
Created in Orbit’s pilot year and supported by the Office of Graduate Education, the Graduate Student Assembly represents the interests of graduate students, meets monthly to discuss important matters, and provides a forum where students can share ideas and suggestions.
New graduate students will also participate in the New Graduate Student LAUNCH. Inspired by the Orbit initiative, “Launch” is a new orientation experience for graduate students, a starting point that provides them with information about campus supports and services, faculty insights into graduate life at UT Dallas, and suggestions related to academic success and professional development in a graduate student-to-student advisory day to help them get started at UT Dallas with the help of their peers.
The Office of Research
UT Dallas has fostered a strong tradition of academic excellence since its inception and strongly encourages graduate students to participate in cutting-edge research in areas that include communication disorders, criminology, biomedical science and quantum physics. Researchers received over $113 million in total research funding in 2017.
The University Career Center
Graduate students, postdocs, and alumni who need assistance with their career search are encouraged to visit The University Career Center. They offer a variety of workshops as well as online resources for students to use in their job search.
Blackstone LaunchPad
Blackstone LaunchPad gives campus community members a resource and a facility to pursue entrepreneurial dreams. The program’s 5,000-square-foot space is located near the center of campus and operates under the umbrella of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Blackstone LaunchPad helps the campus community with startups with resources to:
- Flesh out ideas and initial concepts
- Overcome obstacles as companies become larger
- Connect with an online support community
- Network with peers
- Obtain one-on-one mentorship
Housing
For graduate students, on-campus housing is available in University Village apartments, Canyon Creek Heights apartments, as well as Northside housing. The apartments offer a variety of furnished and unfurnished floor plans. All options offer UT Dallas students the comfort of home within walking distance to class.
Activity Center and Recreation Center West
The Activity Center and Recreation Center West are both available to graduate students. Together, they provide access to traditional weight and cardio training equipment in addition to racquetball courts, squash courts, basketball courts, a climbing wall and a 25-yard indoor swimming pool. There is also access to outdoor basketball courts, a cricket field, sand volleyball courts, soccer fields, tennis courts, softball fields and baseball fields.
The Office of Graduate Education
The Office of Graduate Education works with faculty to elevate the quality of graduate education across the University and challenges students to gain high-level expertise to make original, creative discoveries by immersing themselves in their education. Graduate Education offers workshops for students on writing, finding fellowships and careers. Graduate Education also helps facilitate faculty mentoring and provides a wealth of tools to help students navigate their graduate school experience from assistantships to dissertation and thesis support.
Graduate Student Assembly
The UT Dallas Graduate Student Assembly is a student-led organization which serves as the voice of graduate students on campus. They also organize various social and professional events for graduate students such as game night and networking workshops. Find the GSA’s Blackboard Organization on eLearning where you can find documents related to past and upcoming meetings, forms to provide feedback and a forum to engage in discussions. For upcoming events and news, follow the GSA on their Facebook and Instagram pages.