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UT Austin's Lifelong Learning Program

Spring Gift Memberships!

flowers and gift

Give the gift of learning and community to yourself or your loved ones this Spring season! UT OLLI memberships for the last six-weeks of classes, which begins March 25th, 2024, are discounted to the price of $200.00.

As a new member, you can also:

  • access to the video library for online content offered during past sessions
    • view at your leisure until end of August 2024
  • option to attend Summer Hot Topics event

Enrollment available online HERE or purchase a membership gift by phone at 512-615-8706. 

New Promotion for UT Staff, Alumni, and Family

member with longhorn

UT OLLI is excited to offer an online-only pilot for the remainder of the 2023-2024 program year to non-local* family members of UT staff or alumni for $75.00. 

Pilot program participants will have access to live-streamed classes each session as well as access the video library of recordings. 

Click HERE to view catalogs of upcoming sessions. 

Please call the office at 512-471-3124 to enroll!

*individuals outside of the commuting area or those medically limited from participating on campus
member taking notes

UT OLLI offers an array of intellectually stimulating, non-credit, college-level lectures, seminars, and experiential opportunities.

david berg

Taught by university and community experts and developed in partnership by peer and staff leadership.

coffee socializing

Participation fosters meaningful exchange and engenders a global perspective through learning and volunteer engagement.

UT OLLI is more than just academic classes!

practicing yoga

Yoga Classes

Fall 2023 - Passed
Winter 2024 - Ongoing!

UT OLLI offered a 5-week yoga class on Tuesday mornings before curriculum classes during the Fall 2023 session. In collaboration with The Fitness Institute of Texas (from the Kinesiology and Health Education department in the UT College of Education), the focus was tailored to members for developing core strength and balance. Sign-up for the class occurred alongside registration for all other classes. 

Back by popular demand, yoga classes are held again this Winter 2024 session!

hablas espanol

Spanish Classes

Winter 2024 - Ongoing!

“Looking to go beyond Hola and Gracias on your next vacation?” UT OLLI is offering a course for members to learn beginner conversational Spanish with instructor Julia Sainz. Join us on Tuesdays 3:00-4:00 p.m. for a 6-week session starting on January 16th, 2024. These classes are free and part of your UT OLLI membership!

mcdonald's observatory

West Texas Field Trip

Spring 2024 - Upcoming!

Planned for March 25-27, 2024 is a chartered bus trip to the city of Marfa, TX. The itinerary includes: a day-time tour of the UT McDonald's Observatory as well as a night-time Star Party, and visits to other nearby locations like Fort Davis National Historic Site with dinner at the Historic Prude Ranch. The trip is open to members from all UT OLLI Austin programs.

BSOM students

Annual Spring Concert

Spring 2024 - Upcoming!

UT OLLI hosts an annual spring concert on March 19th, 2024 with performances by student musicians of the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music (BSOM) at Bates Recital Hall. A reception follows at the Thompson Conference Center.

WHY UT OLLI IS FOR YOU

"Brain Health"
 

Are you tired of crossword puzzles? Do you want to live longer? Of course, but not only do you want to extend your years on earth, you want to live well! Universally, living well means maintaining our ability to problem solve and make decisions about our own well-being, remaining adaptable, staying mentally engaged and doing whatever brings us joy. We all know that eating wisely, drinking in moderation and exercising are part of the equation. But what about brain health?

Research shows that our brains are amazingly adaptive and resilient if stretched and worked, much like our muscles. With regular mental stimulation, we develop new synapses, improving our “cognitive life expectancy” — how long we live with good versus declining brain health. How is this done? It’s easier than you may think. You can improve your cognitive life expectancy by breaking out of your usual routine, remaining curious and engaging with new ideas, experiences, people and places. If you live in the Austin, or the greater Austin area, and are 50 or better you have access to a premier and nationally-recognized adult learning program right in the heart of the city on the edge of the UT campus.

 

 

Check out this promotional video featuring the best UT OLLI has to offer: our community, curriculum, and the joy of learning with likeminded people. 

illustration by audrey malo

"The Value of an Education That Never Ends"

“…It’s such a challenge to be a perpetual student — as our society becomes atomized and polarized, the informal educational spaces for adults to learn from people who have different points of view are fewer and farther between. And it gets harder to exercise the intellectual humility that being a student requires when one is supposed to have the authority, the certainty, of adulthood. Yet some people manage it at various points in their lives by finding fellow learners.” 

"Why everyone should consider lifelong learning"

Embracing a healthy lifestyle doesn’t just mean being mindful of diet and exercise. Another important facet of wellness is proactively looking after our brain health. Our brains are like muscles, adaptive and resilient when stretched and worked. And with regular mental stimulation, we can improve our cognitive life expectancy — the length of time we live with good vs. declining brain health. The best way to do this: is by exploring new ideas, and new experiences and remaining engaged in a supportive community. The University of Texas at Austin offers older adults an opportunity to do exactly that.

Dr. Jared Benge

"The Aging Brain"

Dr. Jared Benge, a neuropsychologist in UT Health Austin’s Comprehensive Memory Center, provides answers to the top 10 questions he is asked by patients in the clinical setting about the aging brain. “The six pillars of brain health are the six most important things that can really make a difference in your cognitive health,” shares Dr. Benge. “And that means increasing your risk of avoiding cognitive impairment or dementia, or even reducing your risk of decline or slowing the process down.”

"Increasing Neuroplasticity"
 

How do we keep our brains healthy? And is there anything we can do to help strengthen crucial connections and keep our minds younger in the process? In BBC Reel's four films making up the "Brain Hacks" series, science journalist Melissa Hogenboom sets out to understand more about the brain's capacity to respond to change, helping us to learn and to heal. She looks at the most cutting-edge scientific research and has her own brain scanned and analyzed, with intriguing results.

  1. How I rewired my brain in six weeks
  2. Why exercise sculpts the brain
  3. How to boost your ability to learn

And the fourth in the series >

A Taste of UT OLLI Online!

Professor H. W. Brands holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his Ph.D. in history in 1985. He has authored 30 books on U.S. history and his works have twice been selected as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize.

Dr. Brands gave a timely, virtual lecture to UT OLLI on November 3rd during the Fall 2020 session when the program operated exclusively online.

Check it out! >