Membership to the TIP Scholars community is by invitation only. 

UT Admissions and the Provost’s Office review applications from first-time freshmen admitted to the College of Natural Sciences and nominate students who would be a good fit for our community of scholars. The nomination committee uses a holistic review considering high school evidence of academic achievement, commitment to learning and intellectual challenge, resilience and potential for leadership and effective collaboration, and an appreciation for engagement in a strong academic and social community.

All TIP Scholars Program participants have the opportunity to:

• Engage in community building with faculty and staff.
• Have regular contact with a peer mentor.
• Participate in supplemental course support.
• Enroll in reserved core courses.
• Benefit from proactive academic advising.

Once you are invited to TIP, you are officially a part of the community and no additional action is required! 

However, taking advantage of the exclusive invitation to make TIP Scholars your community is a personal decision. If you would like to decline the invitation and join a FIG (now called Natural Science Foundations), please email tipdesk@austin.utexas.edu.

Both TIP and FIGs (also referred to as Natural Science Foundations) are small cornerstone communities focused on building student connections within the College of Natural Sciences. However, TIP offers additional academic and community support to students throughout their first two years. 

For more information on the different CNS Cornerstone Communities: https://cns.utexas.edu/student-experience/find-community/first-year-com…

There are two main requirements for all students who choose to be a part of the TIP Scholars Program: 

• Enroll in a Fall TIP seminar course (NSC 108)
• Be an active member of your mentor team
  • The core of the TIP Scholar community is your mentor team. Cultivating the community starts with cultivating your team. Being an engaged and responsible member of this team will seed your network at UT and make for an amazing first year experience.

Academics should be your top priority especially your first year at UT. For that reason, we typically ask Scholars to avoid belonging to multiple academic communities if expectations and resources overlap and are redundant. This is in order to make the most effective use of their time. There are some communities, however, that complement the TIP Scholars program and we encourage Scholars to participate if interested.

Examples of communities that would complement the TIP Scholars program

• Freshman Research Initiative (FRI)*

Examples of communities that would be redundant with the TIP Scholars program in their first year

• Women in Natural Sciences (WINS)
• Biology Scholars Program (BSP)
• Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs)
• Honors Programs (like Dean’s Scholars, Health Science Honors, etc.)
   

*TIP partners with the Freshman Research Initiative to reserve seats in a research-based signature course supplemented by a faculty-led small seminar with your mentor team members to process the university experience in a safe space.