The College of Natural Sciences Catalyst Grants program is a College of Natural Sciences internal funding mechanism meant to inspire new interdisciplinary research collaborations in high-impact, emerging fields that will seed efforts to secure major external funding.

Hosted by the Texas Innovation Center, KS WEL Institute's Female Founder Pitch Competition showcases emerging businesses and technologies that are paving the way to have a significant impact on the world. Open to all UT Austin undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, alumnae, and startup ecosystem women-founders, this startup competition aims to highlight innovation happening in the heart of Texas.

The Find Funding page on the Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors is a clearinghouse of internal and external research funding opportunities available to UT Austin researchers. The Find Funding page includes links to searchable databases containing funding opportunities in the Innovation and Economic Impact space applicable for innovators.

Nine-month program for 2-3 recent graduates to discover an entrepreneurial opportunity in an industry of their choice and explore potential solutions with the goal of launching a venture. Each GY Founder receives a $15,000 stipend and $10,000 budget for travel and material expenses.

Hacking For Defense (HFD) is an undergraduate course sponsored by the National Security Innovation Network, a problem-solving network under the Department of Defense. 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.

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 Humanities Research Award was established in 2009 by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts to support faculty in their efforts to bring an in-progress research project in the humanities to completion. Tenured and tenure-track full-time faculty in the College of Liberal Arts whose work falls within the disciplines of the humanities are eligible to apply. Open to eligible faculty with commercialization or entrepreneurial goals.

Texas Venture Labs works campus-wide across disciplines to transform graduate students into entrepreneurs and business leaders, take their innovations to market, and accelerate startups in our ecosystem. We do this through our Practicum course and Fellows program that provide experiential learning for grad students, our Investment Competition, and our Accelerator. Let us help you build your skills while launching your dreams.

The Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (KS WELI) supports creatives, founders, leaders, and allies by redefining leadership and entrepreneurship. KS WELI equips and empowers students of all backgrounds through engaging programming and events, spotlighting women-led businesses through the FoundHER Program, and sponsoring interdisciplinary courses within the McCombs Entrepreneurship Minor. Since its founding, KS WELI has become a force on UT’s campus to grow and support the number of women-owned and women-led businesses.

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.