Endowments

    Resources

    Endowments at The University of Texas at Austin are a sound investment in a better future. With an endowed gift, you provide permanent support for the University. Your gift is invested — never spent — and each year a distribution, like dividends on a mutual fund account, is made to your chosen program or area. Investment earnings above the dividend rate help the endowment value grow over time, to keep pace with inflation and maintain your endowment's spending power.

    There are many endowment opportunities and funding levels available at the University. Choosing what your endowed gift will support is simply a matter of selecting a program that matches your interests. From professorships to book funds, from undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships to deans' and presidents' excellence funds, your legacy can take almost any form.

    You may take up to five years to fund an endowment, and once it is officially established, you or anyone else may continue to add to its principal at any time. Moreover, by selecting the title of your endowment, you can forever link your name, or that of a family member, friend, or organization, to scholarly excellence at the University.

    Various types of endowments are listed below, but endowments can cover other purposes that may fall outside of these general categories:

    • Student Scholarships and Fellowships enable UT to attract and recognize the best undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of their financial circumstances. Your assistance allows students to concentrate on their coursework while also participating more fully in extracurricular programs that will enhance their personal development. The minimum gift level is $25,000 for an undergraduate scholarship and $50,000 for a graduate fellowship. The prestigious Endowed Presidential Scholarship, for undergraduates, carries a minimum gift level of $50,000, and the Endowed Presidential Fellowship, for graduate students, carries a minimum gift level of $100,000.
    • Program Endowments and Excellence Funds support excellence in specific or general programs throughout campus. You can choose to support the area in which you earned your degree or another program that interests you. The minimum gift level is $25,000.
    • Book and Collection Funds advance scholarship and research at UT, enabling the purchase and maintenance of books, maps, electronic resources, and special collections in the arts and sciences, humanities, and professional schools. The minimum gift level is $10,000.
    • Chairs and Professorships are awarded to deans, department chairs, and outstanding faculty. These endowments are crucial to the University's efforts to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers, researchers, and administrators. Gift levels range from $300,000 to $1 million.