How to Apply to Life Sciences and Health Majors at UT Austin: Natural Sciences Majors Chosen at Application with a Degree Option Picked Later, a Separate Nursing School That Must Be Your First Choice, SAT or ACT Required, and the Path for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

The University of Texas at Austin is in Austin, Texas. Its life-science and health-related majors are mainly in two places: the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) and the School of Nursing. The campus’s degree list also shows a BS in Kinesiology and Health with options such as Exercise Science and Health Promotion and Behavioral Science. There is no pre-med major in the United States, and the College of Natural Sciences says plainly that pre-medical and other pre-health programs are not majors. This guide summarises UT Austin’s published information for fall 2027 entry for U.S. applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, followed by transfer students.

1. Relevant undergraduate majors

• College of Natural Sciences says it has 16 undergraduate majors across 13 departments. The admissions degree list includes these related ones:
  • Biology with options such as Cell and Molecular Biology (option 5), Genetics and Genomics (12), Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (4), Human Biology (2), Ecology, Evolution and Behavior (1), Computational Biology (10), Plant Biology (7), Marine and Freshwater Science, plus Teaching (8) and Honors (9). The BS in Biology has 10 specializations, from Genetics and Genomics to Cell and Molecular Biology.
  • Biochemistry, with an honors option; Medical Laboratory Science: academic coursework combined with 12–16 months of clinical education at an accredited school.
  • Neuroscience, with General, Scholars and Honors plans; there is also Neuroscience and Computer Science.
  • Nutrition: a BS or a Bachelor of Science and Arts (B.S.A.). BS options are Dietetics (option 1, the academic preparation for the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist credential), Nutritional Sciences (option 2, preparation for graduate or professional school that can meet requirements for postgraduate study in medicine, dentistry and related fields), Nutrition and Public Health (option 3) and International Nutrition (option 6, with study abroad); honors options also exist.
  • Public Health: a BS (option 1), an honors option (2), and an advanced option (3) leading to the BS in Public Health from UT Austin and the Master of Public Health from UTHealth Houston; students with a GPA of at least 3.4 may apply after their sixth semester.
  • Others: Human Development and Family Sciences, Environmental Science (Biological Sciences), Pre-Pharmacy (section 2), Textiles and Apparel, and more.
• B.S. vs B.S.A.: CNS says most undergraduates pursue either a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or a Bachelor of Science and Arts (B.S.A.), decided in the second year unless they are in an honors program. About 75% of the B.S. is science and math, good preparation for graduate school. The B.S.A. has a solid math and science core and about 18 upper-division hours related to the major, with about 18–21 hours left for a minor or certificate, which must be outside CNS.
• School of Nursing: the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN); graduates are prepared to take the NCLEX-RN.
• Whether the majors are STEM-designated, and whether any combined BS/MD program exists, is not stated on the pages we read; ask admissions.

2. Admission: choose a major at application, pick a degree option later

• College of Natural Sciences: admissions says CNS admits freshmen and transfers for all terms (summer, fall and spring), and that all students are admitted with entry-level status in their chosen major and select their degree specialization after completing entry-level coursework. Only freshmen can be admitted as Undeclared. Another CNS page says students “declare a degree and a major” after earning passing grades in key courses; the two pages word it differently, so confirm with a CNS advisor.
• What you enter: a first- and second-choice major; some majors require additional materials, listed on the college or school page. The holistic review informs both admission and major selection.
• School of Nursing: fall admission only for freshmen and transfers; you must select Nursing as your first-choice major and answer a short-answer prompt (the factors that motivated you to pursue nursing, with related activities and experiences). All applicants must meet professional and technical standards and compliance requirements. The BSN is direct entry, with no further application before upper-division coursework. The School says BSN admission is highly competitive.
• Pre-Pharmacy: CNS students can begin Undeclared/Pre-Pharmacy and choose a major by the end of the first year; entry to the College of Pharmacy is a two-step process—be admitted to and enrolled in a major, then apply to the college after the prerequisites.
• Calculus readiness: freshmen applying to Environmental Science (Biological Sciences), Computer Science, History and Computer Science, Linguistics and Computer Science, and Neuroscience and Computer Science (and all Cockrell and Jackson School majors) must show calculus readiness: SAT Math 620 or higher, ACT Math 26 or higher, AP Calculus AB or BC 3 or higher, IB HL Mathematics 4 or higher, a college Calculus I or higher course with B or higher, a high school Calculus I or higher course with B or higher, or CLT Math 26 or higher. The page notes these markers do not always exempt you from math placement exams. Neuroscience on its own is not on that list.
• Internal transfer: see section 9; students already in CNS who want Public Health also use the CNS internal-transfer process.

3. Pre-med: what the pre-health office says

• CNS says its science majors lay a foundation for the most common prerequisites for professional health programs; pre-med and other pre-health programs are not majors; many students also pursue the Pre-Health Professions Certificate, for which there is no separate application—tell your advisor when you start. The college also runs a three-course Health Professions Pathways seminar series.
• The Health Professions Office helps students prepare for professional schools such as medical, dental and physician assistant programs. Its pre-med course page says requirements vary by school and lists what “most Texas medical schools” require: biological sciences 12 hours with 2 hours of lab; general chemistry 6 hours with 2 of lab; organic chemistry 6 hours with 2 of lab; biochemistry 3 hours; general physics 6 hours with 2 of lab; statistics 3 hours; English 6 hours. Prerequisites must be taken for a letter grade with C or higher (some schools require more); completing them generally takes six semesters or longer; and the page says a competitive GPA is about 3.60–3.80 or higher. Common UT courses include BIO 311C + 311D + 325 plus upper-division electives.
• AP/IB: the HPO FAQ says deciding whether to claim AP/IB credit for prerequisites such as biology, chemistry, English, physics and mathematics needs careful thought, to be discussed with your academic advisor; schools differ on accepting AP/IB credit. It recommends taking prerequisites at UT Austin.
• HPO also publishes “Longhorn Pre-Medical Pathway Acceptance Statistics” for UT bachelor’s graduates who applied or matriculated to medical school, by application service (TMDSAS, AMCAS, AACOMAS).
• Separate pre-health advising for international students and limits on international applicants to U.S. medical schools are not on the pages we read; contact HPO (hpo@austin.utexas.edu). The page has a prompt about international medical schools, but we did not read its content.

4. High school preparation and the first two years

• High school prerequisites (admissions page; freshmen must complete or be on track): language arts 4 credits; mathematics 3 required, 4 strongly recommended (Algebra I or higher, one course Algebra II or more advanced); science 2 required, 4 strongly recommended (one each of biology, physics and chemistry suggested); social studies 3 required, 4 recommended; foreign language 2 (same language); physical education 1 and fine arts 1 recommended; electives 6 recommended.
• Key courses in the first two years (CNS major pages):
  • Biology, Biochemistry, Medical Laboratory Science: Differential and Integral Calculus (M 408C); Principles of Chemistry (CH 301/302); Introductory Biology (BIO 311C/311D); Genetics (BIO 325).
  • Neuroscience: M 408C or M 408N; CH 301/302; BIO 311C/311D.
  • Nutrition: M 408N or Foundations of Data Analysis (SDS 302F); CH 301/302 and Introduction to Chemical Practices (CH 204); BIO 311C; Introduction to Nutritional Sciences with lab (NTR 312 and 112L).
  • Public Health: M 408C; CH 301/302; BIO 311C; Introduction to Public Health (PBH 317).
  • Environmental Science (Biological Sciences) also requires applying to and being accepted for the program.
  The pages describe these as courses “many of our majors take”; the full list is in the degree plan for your year of entry.
• AP/IB credit: UT’s and CNS’s AP/IB equivalency details are not on the pages we read; check the UT catalog and an academic advisor.
• Placement exams: admissions says calculus-readiness markers do not always exempt you from them; other details are not on the pages we read.

5. Rounds, deadlines and materials

• Summer/fall freshman: application opens 1 August; Early Action deadline 15 October, supplemental materials 22 October; regular deadline 1 December, supplemental materials 10 December; Early Action decisions or deferral by 15 January 2027, all decisions by 15 February; Honors decisions 1 March. Spring entry: 1 September.
• Platform and fee: Common App (summer/fall) or ApplyTexas (spring). The fee is $75 for domestic freshmen (a waiver can be requested) and $90 for international applicants (no waivers for international students).
• Essays: at least one essay and the required short answers; Nursing applicants have an additional short answer.
• Testing: freshmen must send at least one official SAT or ACT score from the testing agency (codes SAT 6882, ACT 4240); official Classic Learning Test scores also satisfy this. The SAT Essay, ACT Writing, ACT Science section and SAT Subject Tests are not required.
• Recommendations and resume: up to two letters of recommendation, optional—UT encourages letters from outside the high school; a resume is optional, and so is a 250–300-word short answer on special circumstances.
• Review: individualized and holistic; apart from automatic admission under Texas law, no class rank, test score or other single qualification ensures admission. Freshman review looks at class rank, academic background, test scores, achievements, special accomplishments, essays and recommendations.
• Additional materials for CNS majors are not on the pages we read; admissions says to check the pages of your first- and second-choice college.

6. U.S. applicants

• Automatic admission: for Texas high school students, the class-rank cutoff for Summer/Fall 2027 and Spring 2028 applicants is the top 5%; the University must automatically admit enough students to fill 75% of Texas resident spaces. Applicants must show the high school program the Uniform Admission Policy requires.
• Tuition: 2026-27 estimates (cost page, full-time undergraduate, 12 hours; the table is headed only “Fall” and the page does not say whether it covers one semester or the year—please verify): Texas resident tuition $10,858–13,576, housing and food $15,420–15,580, transportation $1,840, books $724, personal and miscellaneous $3,666, for a total of $32,508–35,386; residents living with parents total $24,998–27,716. The page gives ranges and does not say where each major falls. CNS students pay a differential tuition of $250 (resident) or $500 (non-resident) per semester, included in the advertised rates for 12 or more hours and prorated below that.
• Aid: the Texas Advance Commitment (Texas residents who file the FAFSA or TASFA and show financial need): with a family adjusted gross income up to $100,000, tuition is covered by federal, state and institutional grants; between $100,000 and $125,000 there is tuition support ($100,000 is the standard from fall 2025). Freshmen are funded for up to four years. FAFSA/TASFA state priority deadline 15 January; scholarship interest form 15 January; Texas Exes scholarships 1 March; every admitted freshman is considered for university and college scholarships without a separate application.
• In-state preference: see automatic admission; other in-state preference is not described on the pages we read.

7. International applicants

• Dates: the same as for U.S. freshmen (Early Action 15 October, regular 1 December); the international page adds that admitted students accept and pay the enrollment deposit by 1 May. Spring entry: 1 September.
• English: submit TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo: TOEFL iBT 79 (120 scale) or 4 (6-point scale), IELTS Academic overall 6.5, Duolingo 115. Institutional TOEFL (ITP), TOEFL Essentials and IELTS General Training are not accepted. You are exempt if you are from a country where English is the sole official and primary conversational language (the page lists 23 countries and territories—China is not on the list), or graduated from a U.S. high school or one in a listed country after at least three years of study.
• Transcripts: show completion of an accredited secondary school series equivalent to U.S. grades 9–12: official records (mark sheets) of all secondary work from ninth grade through at least the end of 11th grade—including ninth grade even if completed elsewhere—and copies of official final examinations at the end of secondary school, including external exams, school-leaving certificates and matriculation exams. Documents in other languages need a complete official English translation submitted with the originals. Transcripts by email are not accepted.
• Visa and funds: International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) handles visas, immigration, insurance and financial aid. UT’s proof-of-funds rules and scholarships specifically for international students are not on the pages we read; ask ISSS and admissions.
• Whether international students face limits in Nursing or in clinical placements is not stated on the pages we read.
• The cost page has “resident” and “non-resident” columns and no separate international column; confirm with UT how international students are billed. Non-resident 2026-27 estimates: tuition $42,554–51,106, housing and food $15,420–15,580, transportation $1,840, books $724, personal and miscellaneous $3,666, for a total of $64,204–72,916.

8. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the pages we read do not say how the Gaokao is used; contact admissions (admissions@austin.utexas.edu, 512-475-7399).
• Transcripts and translation: follow the international freshman rules in section 7—full records from ninth grade through at least 11th grade plus copies of official final examinations, the school-leaving certificate and matriculation exams; documents not in English need a complete official English translation submitted with the originals; submit through MyStatus or via Parchment, Naviance/Edocs, Scoir or Greenlight; email is not accepted. UT’s separate statements on the Chinese curriculum or huikao records are not on the pages we read.
• English: China is not on the exempt list, so submit TOEFL 79, IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 115, unless you attended a U.S. or listed-country high school for at least three years.
• Expectations for the Chinese curriculum in math and science, and how to show calculus readiness from it, are not on the pages we read; the listed markers include SAT/ACT Math, AP and IB, and you should confirm details with admissions.

9. Transfer

• Dates: summer/fall—Common App opens 1 September, deadline 1 March, supplemental materials 10 March; spring—deadline 1 September. Decision dates differ by page: the transfer page says 30 June, the review page says 15 May (summer) and 30 June (fall), and the international transfer and international info pages say 15 June—check the latest page. Fee: $75 (waivers available) for U.S. transfers, $90 for international transfers.
• CNS transfer requirements: proof of credit or in-progress work for at least the equivalent of MATH 408K, 408C or 408N (TCCN: MATH 2413) plus six credit hours of first-year math and science; statistics (TCCN: MATH 1342) may replace calculus for Nutrition, Textiles and Apparel, and Human Development and Family Sciences.
• Nursing transfer: fall only; deadline 1 March; Nursing must be the first-choice major; submit an essay focused on becoming a nurse and official transcripts showing CHEM 301, SDS 301 (the nursing internal-transfer page says SDS 302—the pages differ) and BIO 311C. The School of Nursing page says the prerequisites are introductory biology, chemistry and statistics, no labs required, no HESI or TEAS; admission is competitive.
• Internal transfer into CNS: the application opens in the spring for fall admission; you need 24 hours in residence at UT, 1 math and 2 science courses, fewer than 90 hours in residence, and the ability to graduate in four years total at UT; you may apply twice; letters of recommendation are not accepted; admission is very competitive. Students already in CNS applying to Public Health also use this process.
• Internal transfer into Nursing: 24 credit hours (preferably in residence), two years of one foreign language in high school or two semesters in college, and CH 301, SDS 302 and BIO 311C with C- or better; UT cumulative and science GPAs of 3.0 or higher get preference; two attempts at most; applications due 1 December (spring) or 1 May (fall).
• Credit: for coursework from other Texas institutions, the campus points to its Automated Transfer Equivalency System; other credit-transfer detail is not on the pages we read. International transfer applicants must supply English translations for non-English documents.

10. Costs, research and internships

• Costs are in sections 6 and 7. Pharmacy is outside the scope of this guide.
• Research and honors: CNS honors programs include Dean’s Scholars, Health Science Scholars and Polymathic Scholars, plus departmental honors (for example Human Ecology Honors in Nutritional Sciences or Human Development and Family Sciences); CNS says they offer laboratory and field research opportunities and that freshmen and transfers can apply. Nursing Honors invites all admitted incoming freshmen to apply by a letter from the admissions office, which is the only chance to apply.
• Seats in clinical or laboratory placements and any limits for international students are not on the pages we read.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Common App; Early Action 15 October or regular 1 December; at least one SAT or ACT score; list first- and second-choice majors; Nursing must be first choice
• Texas residents: check the Texas Advance Commitment and top-5% automatic admission; FAFSA/TASFA and scholarship interest form by 15 January

International applicants (including China):

• English: TOEFL 79, IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 115; China is not on the exempt list; $90 fee, no waiver
• Transcripts: full records from ninth grade through at least 11th grade plus final-exam copies, with official English translations; ask admissions how the Gaokao is used
• Proof of funds and international scholarships: not published on the pages we read; ask ISSS and admissions

Transfer students:

• Deadline 1 March; calculus plus six hours of math and science; Nursing needs CHEM 301, SDS 301, BIO 311C and first-choice status

Sources: The University of Texas at Austin, Colleges and degrees; Freshman application; International freshman application; Info for international students; High school prerequisites; Transcript info; Review and decision process; Transfer application; International transfer; Texas Advance Commitment; Financial aid; Natural Sciences: undergraduate study; Natural Sciences: majors; B.S. vs B.S.A. degree; Natural Sciences: health professions; Biology and Environmental Science; Biochemistry, biology and medical laboratory science; Neuroscience; Nutrition; Public Health; Natural Sciences internal transfer; Bachelor of Science in Nursing; Nursing internal transfer; Health Professions Office: pre-medical pathway; Pre-med course requirements; Health Professions Office FAQs; Cost and tuition rates; 2026-27 cost of attendance. Most pages do not print a year, so check that the dates apply to fall 2027 entry; costs are the 2026-27 estimates. Check UT Austin’s website for the latest.