University of Texas at Austin: acceptance rate by major

University of Texas at Austin admits about 31% of applicants overall. That number is the one everybody quotes, and for most applicants it is the wrong one — you are not admitted by the university, you are admitted by a college or programme inside it, and those rates differ sharply.

The short version: Computer Science is the hardest route in at 12%, roughly 2.6× harder than the headline rate. Business admits 18%.

Published admit rates by major

Major	Admit rate	GPA (mid 50%)	SAT (mid 50%)
Computer Science	12%	3.90–4.00	1470–1560
Business	18%	3.85–4.00	1400–1530
Whole university	31%	3.70–4.00	1260–1480

What this means if you are applying from outside the US

Two things follow from the table above.

Your odds depend on what you write in the major box. At University of Texas at Austin the gap between the hardest and most accessible programme is 12% against 18% — a bigger difference than almost anything you can change about your profile this year.
International admit rates run below the published figure at most US universities. University of Texas at Austin charges international students about $40,996 in tuition, and its aid policy for them is: Some scholarships available.

Switching major purely for the admit rate is usually a mistake — a "why this major" essay written about a subject chosen for its odds reads exactly like one, and internal transfer after enrolment is capped and competitive at most schools. But if you were genuinely choosing between two subjects, the difference above is real and worth knowing.

Calculate your own odds at University of Texas at Austin →

Other schools that publish by-major data

By-major rates University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Purdue University University of Washington Cornell University Carnegie Mellon University

Source: UT Austin reported CS admit range.

These are published institutional figures, not predictions. Admission decisions also rest on essays, recommendations and institutional priorities, which no calculator can see. Not affiliated with any university.