Educating Future Leaders in Every Field
A Community of Scholars and Students
Debating Questions of Enduring Significance
The Jefferson Center serves as a locus for the study of the great books at UT Austin. The heart of the Center’s work is the promotion and support of great books education and the serious study of classic texts. It is home to the prestigious Jefferson Scholars Program, in which highly qualified undergraduates from colleges and schools across the university earn the Core Texts and Ideas Certificate. In addition to the study of foundational texts, the Center aims to promote civic engagement and responsible citizenship. Our educational mission is to help students become more reflective about their own beliefs, more capacious in their sympathies, and better prepared to engage in civil and respectful dialogue.
"Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion."
- Thomas Jefferson
Late Applications for Fall 2026 Open
The priority deadline for Jefferson Scholars applications for incoming students has passed.
It may take longer to process your application, but incoming freshmen can still apply. Apply here.
This caption describes the image above.
Civic Thought Initiative
The Jefferson Center is launching a new program of course development grants in the College of Liberal Arts to deepen students’ understanding of the theoretical foundations of liberty, the historical development of free institutions, the modern traditions of liberal and conservative thought, and the practices of constructive civil discourse.
Learn More
Leo Strauss and the Recovery of "Natural Philosophizing"
by Alberto Marco Giovanni Ghibellini
Among the political philosophers of the twentieth century, Leo Strauss is usually singled out for his attempt to revitalize the ancient approach to counter the relativism of both historicism and positivism. It is less commonly underscored, however, that the cornerstone of this attempt is the recovery of the question of "nature," which he regarded as inseparable from genuine philosophy since its inception in ancient Greece.
Photo Credit.
Add Video Headline Here
Add video description here.
Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas
Dana Stauffer and Devin Stauffer, Co-Directors