Student Life

Creating a community of leaders

The Student Life Office supports students in dozens of student organizations where people connect, get involved, develop leadership skills and learn more about specific fields. It provides support, engagement and networking opportunities to students in the college.

Find Student Organizations

Photo of science students tabling on the main mall with the UT Tower in the background.

Resources for Student Org Officers

Support and resources are available to science-based organizations whose focus and activities benefit CNS students through leadership experience, outreach and networking.

Registering Your Organization 

To be eligible for CNS registration, your org must first be registered with Student Activities and the majority of your membership (over 60%) must be undergraduate students majoring in a discipline housed in CNS. 

You do not need to re-register if your org was previously registered with the college,

If your org has not been registered with CNS before, please fill out the CNS New Organization Registration Form and email cnsstudentlife@austin.utexas.edu after submitting it.

Events and Banners

In mid-late August, all organizations registered with CNS will be sent information on how to participate in Gone to Natural Sciences or any other recruitment event occurring before classes begin. CNS provides banners to our registered organizations after 1 year of activity. It is the responsibility of the individual organizations to keep track of these banners for tabling and events. Any organization that loses their banner will be financially responsible for its replacement. 

Requesting Event Support

CNS Student Life helps to fund many aspects of events for registered CNS Student Organizations during the fall and spring semesters. 

  1. If your CNS Student org is hosting an event that requires funding, please complete the request form here at least 2 weeks in advance and we will evaluate on a case-by-case basis. 
  2. Please email cnsstudentlife@austin.utexas.edu as soon as you submit your funding request. You will hear from our office within 4 business days of your email.  

Other sources of funding and in-kind support are also available. See “Additional Support Options” below.

Lunch with the Dean

During the fall and spring semesters, the leaders of our registered student organizations are invited to a monthly lunch with our CNS Student Dean and the CNS Student Life team. These lunches are a great way for organization leaders to connect with each other as well as college administration.

Marketing Your Event

We want to know what your organization is up to and so do our students! To have a large event be considered for placement in the CNS Student Dean's weekly student newsletter, please email cnsundergraded@austin.utexas.edu by noon on the Monday of each week to be included in that week's newsletter to Texas Science students. Other ways to spread the word are here.

Websites to Bookmark

Student Activities Center FAQ: Official UT Student Organization information (making reservations for events, travel guidelines, resources, etc)

Leadership and Ethics Institute – Open Virtual Workshops: Free, virtual leadership workshops for student leaders (open, on-demand, and advanced workshops)

Event Guidelines and Checklist: Official UT guidelines and policies for student organization meetings and events

Campus Services: Links, hours, and operations for various UT facilities and services (Center for Students in Recovery, CMHC, UHS, etc)

Longhorn Resources: Virtual platform for students with academic support resources, financial aid information, career guidance, and virtual campus resources

Leading Successful Organizations: Resources/information for student organization leaders on various topics (building constitutions, officer transitions, goal setting, recruitment, elections, etc)

Student Activities Center Resources: Art supplies, poster printing, storage space, west mall rally space, permits and forms

Reservations and Publicity: Updated info regarding organization campus events, tabling, and banners.

Federal Tax ID Resource

Click here to be redirected to a page about what it is, what it is used for within student organizations, and how you can get one!

Additional Support Options

Funding requests for events and needs may also be submitted through the following:

Planning for Food

Some companies offer profit sharing or donations to student organizations. 

  • Jason’s Deli may give 15% back; it will usually only approve events expected to have 50+ participants - must show proof of 501(c)3 tax exemption
  • Plucker’s (2222 Rio Grande St. Ste 116) offers profit sharing. Contact manager by phone (512) 469-WING or in person
    • Best to go in person during non-meal times when they are less busy
    • Does not include alcoholic drinks
    • Sign-up for a Wednesday Trivia Night and Plucker's will allow teams to sign-up under your organization - charge $5 per person per team and triple your profit!
  • Panera Bread throws out their leftover baked goods for the day at their closing hour and will sometimes give them out to students!
  • Chipotle has a donation form you must complete 12 weeks in advance.  
  • HEB has a form you must complete 8 weeks in advance. Must show proof of 501(c)3 tax exemption
  • Central Market has a form you must complete at least 8 weeks in advanceclick here fill out a Community Partnership application online, or you can do so in person at the store 
T-Shirts

The following work with CNS student organizations: