The University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as The University of Texas, UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a doctoral/research university located in Austin, Texas. It is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located less than a mile from the Texas State Capitol in Austin. According to The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities (2001) by Howard and Matthew Greene, The University of Texas at Austin is one of America's "Public Ivy" institutions of higher education, defined by the authors as a public institution that "provides an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price." Founded in 1883, the university has had the fifth largest single-campus enrollment in the nation as of fall 2006 (and had the largest enrollment in the country from 1997-2003), with nearly 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 16,500 faculty and staff. It currently holds the largest enrollment of all colleges in the state of Texas.

The university also operates various auxiliary facilities aside from the main campus, most notably the J. J. Pickle Research Campus. Texas is a major center for academic research, annually exceeding $380 million in funding. In addition, the university's athletic programs were recognized by Sports Illustrated, which dubbed UT "America's Best Sports College" in 2002.