UT Austin Military and Veteran Connections

"Let us never send the President of the United States to the conference table as the head of the second strongest nation in the world." – Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Clements, 1973

The William P. Clements, Jr. Center for National Security at The University of Texas at Austin draws on the best insights of diplomatic and military history to train the next generation of national security leaders. Understanding history is essential for wise and effective national security strategy and statecraft. History enables leaders to glean the wisdom of the past without incurring its costs and can provide American leaders with a deeper sense of perspective, an appreciation for patterns of the past, and the wisdom to determine the most effective policies for the future.

H4D is an undergraduate course sponsored by the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), a problem-solving network under the Department of Defense Office of Research and Engineering. In H4D, teams of students apply lean startup principles to validated and curated problems presented by organizations within the US military and intelligence communities. Students work collaboratively with national security professionals to rapidly address the nation’s emerging threats and security challenges. H4D at The University of Texas at Austin leverages relationships with the Defense Innovation Community anchored in downtown Austin, exposing students to the innovation models at Army Futures Command, the Army Applications Laboratory, AFWERX, and Defense Innovation Unit.

Texas Career Engagement (TCE) proudly connects our military partners with students and alumni for skill acquisition and talent pipeline development. TCE is reimagining the way students, alumni, employers, faculty and staff prepare for the future of work together—by engaging around career in a way that is equitable and inclusive. We do this by connecting employers with the diverse talent at UT Austin, and by collaborating with campus partners to ensure that every undergraduate and graduate student – including each veteran student – has equitable access to career education, experiences, and opportunities.

The Strauss Center for International Security and Law integrates expertise from across the University of Texas at Austin, as well as from the private and public sectors, in pursuit of practical solutions to emerging international challenges. Towards that end, the Center sponsors a wide array of research programs and educational initiatives which vary from security and technology pursuits, to national security and regional challenges programs, and our broader outreach for students and the public.

Since 1992, the US Army has partnered with UT in a one-year fellowship for Army officers. Selected senior field-grade officers attend UT in lieu of the Army War College resident program at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and receive the award of Military Education Level One—the highest level of formal military education. The program prepares fellows to meet the demands of strategic-level thinking and senior leadership as they guide the Army into the future.

Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs is a campus-wide initiative that transforms graduate students into entrepreneurs and business leaders while helping accelerate market entry and growth for Texas startups. Through experiential learning programs like our TVL Practicum, TVL Accelerator, TVL Startup Fellows and TVL Investment Competition (TVLIC), we have helped hundreds of veterans and active-duty personnel explore entrepreneurship. TVLIC features the James D. Pippin Veteran Award given to the most promising startup pitch from a veteran founder.

The Learning Agents Research Group pursues AI research to understand how to best create complete intelligent agents. The group's research focuses mainly on machine learning, multiagent systems and robotics. The group believes the most exciting research topics are inspired by challenging real-world problems and that successful research includes precise, novel algorithms and fully implemented and rigorously evaluated applications. The group's application domains include robot soccer, autonomous bidding agents, autonomous vehicles and human-interactive agents. Over the years, much of their research has been supported by the Department of Defense, and they are actively engaged with the Army Futures Command.

The VITAL program is a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs program that strives to enhance academic retention and success through on-campus counseling and care coordination. They also help improve understanding of veterans' strengths and challenges through education and training delivered to the campus community along with the local medical center, Veterans Benefits Administration, campus faculty and staff members, and community resources.

The Military History Institute is an educational outreach and archival program within the Center for American History (CAH) at The University of Texas at Austin. It was spearheaded by WWII historian and scholar Thomas M. Hatfield who was recently welcomed to the Ranger Hall of Fame. The institute collects, preserve and make available documents and material culture evidence of key themes in U.S. history. Researchers, students, and the public use the institute’s collections for a wide range of academic, professional, and personal uses.

Founded in 1964, the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships is the nation’s premiere program for leadership and public service. The White House Fellowship offers exceptional Americans first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the federal government.

The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) is the deep technology incubator of The University of Texas at Austin. For over 30 years, ATI has used a customized approach to support university and community entrepreneurs addressing the world’s most pressing problems by connecting startups with the expertise and resources they need to successfully commercialize their breakthrough innovations.

Since 1909, the Extended Campus at UT Austin has empowered personal and professional growth through accessible, open-enrollment educational programs for non-traditional students. Today, the Extended Campus serves as the gateway to the wide variety of continuing and professional education programs taught by top faculty and drawn from colleges and schools across the university. Our programs accept a variety of education benefits funding, including Tuition Assistance (TA), VA education benefits and Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA).