EVS Admission Information

Due to the hands-on nature of much of its curriculum, participation in the EVS Program is restricted to 50 students per year.  By contrast, The University of Texas at Austin enrolls nearly 40,000 undergraduates each year.  Consequently, EVS is very selective, and admission is available only through a competitive application process.

• Internal Transfer Process
• Non-Major Seats in EVS 311
• Internal Transfer Information Sessions
• Prospective Freshmen and External Transfer Students

Internal Transfer Students (Current UT Students)

Applications to EVS for students currently enrolled at UT Austin are accepted each spring for enrollment in the program the following academic year. Applicants should meet the following requirements to be competitive for internal transfer admissions:

• Completion of or enrollment in at least one of the basic sequence courses in EVS (BIO 311C, CH 301, M 408C/K/N, and/or GEO 401/303/GRG 401C).
• Minimum 2.75 cumulative UT GPA recommended at the time of the application
• Minimum 2.75 GPA in completed basic sequence courses recommended at time of application

Overall factors in assessment of internal transfer applications will include, but are not limited to:

• the student’s grade point average in the EVS basic sequence courses;
• the student’s overall grade point average at the University;
• the difficulty of the student’s course load, course repetitions, and proven mathematical ability;
• interest in environmental science and in the EVS Program; and
• previous lab or field experience, and any environmentally-related volunteer work.

Historically, the number of seats available for internal transfer students has been limited, as such, the GPA of successful internal transfer applicants is not the only factor in our holistic review process. A strong GPA is beneficial but your essays will also be important in your application. Please spend some time on your answers. Due to the competitive nature of the EVS internal transfer process, interested students are encouraged to explore all options for environmental study at the university. To explore other options consider meeting with an advisor in the Vick Center or Texas Career Engagement.

Information Sessions

Current UT Austin students interested in applying for the EVS major are encouraged to attend an information session prior to submitting their application. Unless noted, all sessions will be in person. For any Zoom session, the link will be included below and the Zoom session will open about 5 minutes before the presentation.

Internal Transfer Information Sessions

February 27th, 2:00-3:00pm, JGB 2.102A

March 6th, 11:00am-12:00pm, JGB 2.102A

March 28th, 2:30-3:30pm, JGB 2.102A

April 1st, 3:00-4:00pm, JGB 2.102A

All sessions will be in person in the rooms noted above.

Non-Major Seats in EVS 311 (Current UT Students)

Pending available seats, the application for non-major seats in EVS 311 for the Spring 2024 semester will open Nov. 17th 2023 and will close Dec. 8th at 11:59pm

Note: Due to a larger than normal EVS cohort we do not believe we will have extra seats in EVS 311. If we do have open seats we will open this application per above dates.

Apply Now

Decisions will be announced no later than the first class day of the spring semester via a secure academic note, and the EVS Advising Coordinator will work with students offered a seat during add/drop to add the class to their schedules.

Prospective Freshmen and External Transfer Applicants

Students not currently enrolled at UT Austin can apply directly to the EVS Program on their application to the university by selecting “environmental science” as their major at the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts, or the Jackson School of Geosciences. Applicants should apply through the college they believe best suits their academic interests and needs.

To be considered for admission to the EVS program, freshmen and external transfer applicants must meet Calculus Readiness Requirement, described below.

Freshmen and external transfer applicants are evaluated through the university’s Office of Admission, and therefore are evaluated according to the official application review factors. External transfer applicants should check the prerequisites for EVS in each college as outlined on the Admissions Prerequisites page. 

Please Note: All EVS applications, including first year and external transfer student applications, are be reviewed by a central admission committee. Consequently, the likelihood of acceptance to the Program does not increase in the event an applicant applies to EVS through more than one college.

Calculus Readiness Requirement

To be considered for admission to the Environmental Science major as a prospective freshman or external transfer applicant, you must meet the calculus readiness requirement. You can show calculus readiness by submitting one of the following by the admissions deadline:

• A SAT Math score of 620 or above (on exams taken after March 2016; a score of 600 or above is considered for exams taken prior to March 2016);
• An ACT Math score of 26 or above;
• An AB or BC Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus Test score of 3 or higher;
• An International Baccalaureate (IB) HL or SL Mathematics score of 4 or higher;
• An official college or university transcript showing credit for a college-level Calculus I (or higher) course with a grade of “C-” or higher; or

If you have any questions about this process or the above criteria, please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions or contact the EVS Program at evs@esi.utexas.edu.