The Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies Living Learning Community(HIES LLC) is a first of its kind community that will admit incoming students directly into the Entrepreneurship Minor. This entrepreneurial living learning community provides students with access to entrepreneurship classes, campus housing, and the McCombs business community, a credential program that is usually reserved for admitted upperclassmen students.

The Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies is the corner of Main and Main for all undergraduate entrepreneurs at the University of Texas. We support interdisciplinary education and enriched extra-curricular experiences for students at any stage in their entrepreneurial journey. From the Entrepreneurship Minor, to the Undergraduate Mentor Program, there is a resource to get you to your next step.

At the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center, our dedicated focus is on fostering the growth of entrepreneurial skills and empowering Longhorns to embrace this mindset in their careers, whether through starting their own businesses or driving innovation within established industries. UT founders can tap into the HKEC’s wealth of entrepreneurial resources through our networking and funding opportunities, interactive speaker events, one-on-one mentorship, pitch competitions, and our semester-long practicum, the Forty Acres Founders Program.

The Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship Certificate helps students develop skills to bring creative thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset to their goals, whether they’re interested in turning their ideas into a new venture, being part of a startup team, or bringing new ideas to established organizations. Through interdisciplinary coursework and research or internships, students gain skills including idea generation, design/prototyping, problem-solving, pitching ideas, and collaboration.

The LaunchPad at UT Austin is a resource hub that helps all undergraduate and graduate students explore entrepreneurship at UT. We help students identify where they are in their entrepreneurial journey – Explore, Ideate, Create, or Scale – then educate and connect them to resources across campus and in Austin. LaunchPad resources include events, coworking space, funding, bootcamps, accelerators, and other programs. We are a proud member of the global Blackstone LaunchPad Network of 46+ campuses.

The McCombs Entrepreneur Summer Fellowship (MESF), funded by the generous support of alumni donors and the Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, enables innovative students to continue building their startups during the summer. Full-time undergraduate students from majors both in and outside of McCombs, and with four semesters of course work who are actively working on a startup are eligible to apply. Applicants working on any stage of startup development from ideation to scaling are eligible to apply.

The Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) is the only organization on campus authorized to manage university-owned IP (trademarks excepted). The OTC works with researchers to define the technology, assess its development stage, strategize potentially valuable patent claims, and as necessary, file patents to protect the IP in advance of publication. The OTC also supports technologies that are not patentable, such as software and copyrighted works that may be commercialized via license.

The Social Entrepreneurship & Non-profits Certificate brings together students who are interested in pursuing a career in the public service sector and expanding their involvement in the community. Students have the opportunity to take coursework from a variety of disciplines that provide skills and knowledge in non-profit management, community engagement, and development. Students also gain hands-on experience through internships and research.

Every semester, the LaunchPad gives out $15K in grant money (ranging from $500-$5,000) for undergrad students pursuing an entrepreneurial opportunity. Grants can be used for projects related to customer discovery, prototype development, pilot deployment, travel expenses, living stipends for unpaid and/or low-paying startup internships, and more. Priority is given to students participating in UGS programs and Success Initiatives across campus.

A 9-week summer accelerator program that picks the most promising emerging UT startups (undergrad, grad, and faculty teams) and helps them confront their next market-driven milestone. In its 13th year, alumni companies have collectively raised $100M and generated over $400M in valuation.