UT Austin's Lifelong Learning Program
We are both On-Campus and Online!
UT OLLI offers engaging and thought provoking content. There are three ways to participate:
- Attend classes on university campus with peers at the Thompson Conference Center.
- Watch online and submit questions during select livestreamed presentations.
- View select on-demand recordings at your leisure.
UT OLLI offers an array of intellectually stimulating, non-credit, college-level lectures, seminars, and experiential opportunities.
Taught by university and community experts and developed in partnership by peer and staff leadership.
Participation fosters meaningful exchange and engenders a global perspective through learning and volunteer engagement.
UT OLLI is more than just academic classes!
Yoga Classes
UT OLLI is thrilled to continue our collaboration with The Fitness Institute of Texas (in the UT College of Education's Kinesiology and Health Education department) in the next year, offering free yoga classes to member during sessions. The focus is specially tailored for developing core strength and balance.
Spanish Classes
“Looking to go beyond Hola and Gracias on your next vacation?” UT OLLI will continue to offer beginner, conversational Spanish classes-- free and part of membership! More details to be announced soon.
Annual Spring Concert
Spring 2025
UT OLLI will host an annual spring concert 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.
"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.
"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.
- How I rewired my brain in six weeks
- Why exercise sculpts the brain
- 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! >
