Contact Us

Please contact by emailing:
utwinsprogram@utexas.edu

WINS Program Director:
Elizabeth Morgan

How to Apply*

1. Apply for Admission to The University of Texas at Austin. Once admitted, confirm your acceptance by paying the enrollment deposit. Deposits are non-refundable after May 1, 2023. (Students are able to apply and be accepted to WINS before confirming their attendance at UT.)

2. Obtain a Housing Contract. You can apply for on-campus housing through the Division of Housing and Food Services before you are even accepted to the university. Apply early! You do not have to wait until you are accepted to UT. Once you have been offered a housing contract, immediately sign and return it to Housing along with the required housing deposit. Contracts usually expire ten days after you receive them, so be sure to return them promptly.*

3. Complete the online FRI/WINS Application. All eligible majors will be able to apply for WINS through the FRI application. Be sure to first read the WINS FAQ to determine if you will be eligible to apply and if WINS is the right fit for you. WINS/FRI Applications will be available in mid-late February and due in mid-late March. Please visit this page for updates. 

Any WINS applications received after the due date will be marked for our program waitlist. 

4. Acceptance into your Cornerstone Community. WINS is just one of the many program opportunties for entering first-year students in the College of Natural Sciences. As a college, we are committed to making UT Austin a welcoming and inclusive place for all students. We have many different Cornerstones Communities and work to match every incoming student with a small academic learning community of peers with similar academic interests. All incoming students will be informed of their Cornerstones placement by April 28, 2023.

WINS applications will be reviewed by our admissions panel and acceptances will be announced during CNS Cornerstone Week in late April 2023.*

*Subject to change - please check back for updated information before applying. 

How do I apply and when do I find out if I am accepted?

Please visit our "How to Apply" page for the most updated information. 

Can I participate in WINS and live off campus?*

Yes. However, when reviewing applications, preference is given first to those planning to live on campus. However, if you are interested in WINS, but have extenuating circumstances that keep you off campus, then you are encouraged to apply and send us an email describing the circumstances regarding your housing situation - be sure to include your name and EID.

Do I have to be committed to UT to apply to WINS?

No. Students do not have to be committed to UT to apply and be considered for WINS.  

Can I participate in WINS and other special programs?

It depends on the other program. Students accepted into University Leadership Network (ULN) or UT for Me may still apply and be considered for WINS. 

The application for WINS is linked to the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) application and decisions will be released concurrently. All students accepted to WINS will automatically be accepted to FRI as well. 

In order to give every CNS student a small community experience, students will not be accepted to more than one small community program in Natural Sciences. TIP Scholars, WINS, BSP, and all of our CNS Cornerstone programs all have reserved classes and similar benefits. If you have already ACCEPTED a seat in any of the following, please do not apply to Women in Natural Sciences (WINS):

• CNS Honors program (Dean's Scholars, Health Science Scholars, Polymathic Scholars, Turing Scholars, Human Ecology, or Texas CSB). 

If you have been accepted to a special program outside of the College of Natural Sciences (ex. Plan II), we will review your application on a case-by-case basis. 

What is the difference between WINS and WiSTEM? Can I participate in both programs?

WINS is a CNS Cornerstone based in the College of Natural Sciences. The program includes FRI acceptance, reserved courses, advising, and mentorship for first-year students in certain CNS majors as well as other opportunies for scholarship, travel, and support extending through graduation.

WiSTEM is a university-wide program housed in the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement that is open to the university community and also includes an LLC for first-year students across all STEM majors. Both programs are wonderful opportunities to engage and form communities with other women in STEM.

WINS students are able to and do participate in WiSTEM events open to the university community. WINS first year students are also eligible to apply for and participate in the WiSTEM Living Learning Community in Kinsolving. This will have no impact on their WINS applications.

Is there a fee to participate in WINS or any of the program events? 

No, there is no fee for WINS. The only fees are associated with our optional cultural exchange and shadowing programs abroad, and we offer as many scholarships as we are able to for these opportunities.

What majors can apply for WINS?*

Disciplines include astronomy, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, marine science, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, public health, and computer science.

Please visit the Environmental Science Major site and departments of Human Ecology or Statistics and Data Sciences for more information on opportunities within those majors. While we deeply support the objectives of the majors in these areas, they are already small programs with designated first-year cohorts/FIGs that include required reserved first-year courses not offered by WINS. In addition, because of reserved classes and the small size of many of these first-year majors/programs, the departments restrict participation in other programs that include class reservations. 

Will participation in WINS affect a scholarship award?

No, participation in WINS will not affect a scholarship award.

Is WINS a student organization?

No. WINS is a departmental program that students apply for during the spring of their senior year of high school.  Once admitted, students have the opportunity to continue participating in WINS throughout their college career. Please visit How to Apply for more information.

Is WINS open to current or transfer students?

While WINS aims to host programming for all CNS students each year, we are only able to offer full support services to incoming first-year students accepted to the program each year. WINS would love to serve more CNS students but currently do not have the staff or funding to provide support to students beyond the ones we serve at this time.

We recommend connecting with one of our many different CNS student organizations such as SAGES, Black Women in STEM, Association for Women in Mathematics, Gender Minorities in Physics, or Women in Computer Science. We also recommend checking out WiSTEM for their year-round programming open to all university students.

What are the requirements of participation in WINS?

All students participating in WINS must be accepted into both WINS and FRI, live on campus, plan to take first-year courses and a seminar reserved through WINS, as well as attend a welcome meeting during summer orientation. At the summer welcome meeting, students will meet their academic advisor, program mentors, and register for all of their classes. WINS students are also expected to remain in communication with their first-year mentor and active in WINS activities throughout the fall and spring semesters to continue with the program each year. 

*Subject to change