UT Sets Academic Performance Records, Remains the No. 1 Public University in Texas
This academic year saw a record number of applications and the highest graduation rate in the school’s history.
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin began the 2026-27 academic year with new highs in enrollment, freshman applications and student success. The official data, calculated on the 20th class day, reflects continued record demand in the University and exceptional academic performance once students arrive on the Forty Acres.
UT’s total enrollment for the Fall 2026 term reached a record 55,172 students. Of those, 44,675 are undergraduates. This year’s entering freshman class, referred to as first-time in college (FTIC), is 9,487.
Demand for a UT Austin education continues to be strong. This year’s freshman class was selected from a record 98,841 applications — an 8.9% increase from the previous application cycle and 64.5% more than the number of freshmen who applied five years earlier. Once on campus, most UT students continue to graduate in four years, with the four-year graduation rate reaching 77.7% — nearly two percentage points higher than the previous year and the highest in the University’s 143-year history. In the just-ended 2025-26 academic year, the University awarded an all-time high of 16,704 degrees.
These continued high rates of student success contribute to UT maintaining its place as the No. 1 public university in Texas, and among the top 10 public universities in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report rankings released Tuesday. Of the 37 UT undergraduate programs U.S. News evaluated, 20 rank in the top 10, with eight in the top five, including Petroleum Engineering, which is ranked No. 1 in the country.
The McCombs School of Business is ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 6 overall, while the Cockrell School of Engineering also takes home the No. 1 spot in Texas and No. 11 overall. The University is also ranked No. 1 in Texas for Best Colleges for Veterans and No. 1 in Texas for Best Value School for In-State Students, a new category this year.
UT undergraduate programs ranked in the top 10 nationally among public and private universities in the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings for 2027:
McCombs School of Business:
Accounting – 3
Management Information Systems – 4
Finance – 5
Marketing – 5
Entrepreneurship – 6
Management – 6
Production/Operations Management – 7
Insurance – 8
Real Estate – 8
Quantitative Analysis – 8
College of Natural Sciences:
Environmental/Environmental Health – 5
Artificial Intelligence – 10
Cockrell School of Engineering:
Petroleum Engineering – 1
Chemical Engineering – 4
Civil Engineering– 4
Software Engineering – 7
Computer Engineering – 8
Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering – 9
Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering – 9
Mechanical Engineering – 10
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