UT is the largest of the seven universities in the University of Texas System, serving the needs of some 48,000 students. Founded in 883, UT now has over 120 buildings on a campus of nearly 400 acres in Austin.

Academically, the university is organized into eight colleges and five schools, plus a GraduateSchool which guides the studies of almost 9,000 graduate students in more than 70 fields. The Jones-Lindzey Report, a recent nationwide study of university programs, confirmed University of Texas' status as a premier educational and research institution. Only six state-supported universities had a greater number of highly ranked programs in this report. Among southwestern universities, UT ranked first in twenty-one fields and second in nine fields out of thirty-two fields studied. In particular, the report supported the reputation of the College of Engineering as a center of academic excellence. The engineering program in general is rated eighth among public institutions nationally, while the Environmental Engineering program is ranked fifth in the country.

The College of Engineering facilities available for GCHSRC research are extensive. These include the excellent pilot scale facilities which are part of the Separations Research Program. Along with the recently built Chemical-Petroleum Engineering Building on the main campus, researchers benefit from the university's J. J. Pickle Research Center, located six miles to the north.