Our program enrolls children aged 18 months (before September 1) through 6 years.

We follow The University of Texas academic calendar and are open/closed when they are. Generally, we start our Fall semester the 4th Monday of August and end the first Thursday of December for Winter Break. (The University is closed on Labor Day and Fall Break/Thanksgiving Week.) We start back up for our Spring semester the 2nd Monday of January and end the 4th Thursday of April. (The University is closed on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the week of Spring Break.) In addition, the UT Lab School is open the 2nd Monday in June through the 2nd Thursday in July during UT's First Summer Term for our Summer Camp. (The University is closed on Juneteenth and Independence Day.)

Community enrollment begins the second week of March of each year, at which time eligible waiting list families are contacted and offered a spot in a UT Lab School classroom for the upcoming school year. You will have 24 hours to accept or decline the spot, so make sure that you’ve toured our facility! Our classes often fill by April. 

If you are considering enrolling your child in the UT Lab School, we highly recommend that you join our waiting list as early as possible, as application date is one of the factors used to determine eligibility. Class placement is based on the application date, taking into consideration the child’s learning style, gender balance, teacher’s teaching style, sibling class placement and special circumstances. We also highly recommend that you actively maintain your waiting list status by updating your contact information as soon as any changes occur by emailing us at labschool@utexas.edu.

We are a part-time program. Our toddler classes meet twice a week, either Monday and Wednesday OR Tuesday and Thursday, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Toddlers are divided into these cohorts based on their DOB. 

For our Pre-K3 and Pre-K4 classes, we offer both a morning option from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm OR an afternoon option from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm Monday through Thursday. Lastly, our Kindergarten class meets Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

During Summer Camp, all children attend Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm (or 1:00 pm if enrolled in Lunch Bunch).

Yes! We encourage all interested families to take a tour. Sign up for a free tour here! Tours are typically given twice a month during the fall and spring semester and a few times during our summer camp. All tours are from 9:30 am to 11:00 am.

No. UT Lab School enrollment is open to all members of the Austin community and surrounding areas. In addition, we are unable to prioritize enrollment for children of UT employees or UT Alumni. If you are a current UT employee, we recommend looking into UT's Child Development Center for full-day care.

There is really no way to estimate the length of the waiting list. The number of openings that we have in each age group for waiting list families varies annually. Our waiting list is based on application date, gender, and date of birth. In each classroom, we balance gender and age of children to provide the best reflection of age-specific development for our undergraduate laboratory students. The length of time you might remain on the waiting list is dependent upon the yearly classroom openings. Once you join the waiting list you will automatically remain on it until you are either offered a spot in our program or you ask to be removed from the waiting list.

The best way for you to learn about our program, including our enrollment procedures, is to sign up for a tour.

Yes. Children are placed on our wait list after completion of an application and payment of the application fee. The wait list is divided into age group categories. When establishing classes for the next school year or filling mid-year vacancies, the primary goal of the preschool is the heterogeneous grouping of children by gender and age range. Priority of placement is given to siblings of children currently enrolled and/or alumni of the UT Lab School’s program. Class placement is based on the application date, taking into consideration the child’s learning style, gender balance, teacher’s teaching style, sibling class placement, and any special circumstances. The child will remain on the list until a class opening is offered or you ask for them to be removed.

Once offered a spot, you will have 24 hours to accept or decline the offer as a courtesy to the other families on our waiting list. If we do not hear back from you, you will be removed from our waiting list.

Yes! Annually, we offer ~$30,000 in needs-based, partial scholarships, based on income according to Travis County HUD limits, to families who are admitted into the program and who qualify for support. Upon enrollment, you will receive access to our scholarship application where you can apply for tuition aid. 

The majority of our toddler spots are filled with siblings of currently enrolled children. Currently enrolled families receive a sibling priority on the waiting list.

We have limited spaces in our toddler classrooms. Once a child is able to join our preschool program (three years old by September 1st), your child’s chances of being offered a spot increase significantly. Our preschool classes are bigger than the toddler classes and we open an afternoon class. Find out more about our program options here.

All of our Master Teachers are highly qualified and hold at least a Master’s degree in Child Development or a related field. They are also required to attend all state-mandated training and are certified in infant, child and adult CPR and First Aid. In addition, they undergo 24+ hours of professional development training throughout each year.

All of our classes are staffed with a Master Teacher, a graduate or teaching assistant, and a variety of undergraduate students. Each younger toddler class consists of 8 children and at least 2 teachers (4:1). Each older toddler class consists of 9 children and at least 2 teachers (5:1). Our Pre-K3 classes enroll 16 children and have at least 2 teachers (8:1) while our Pre-K4 classes enroll 17 children and have at least 2 teachers (9:1). Our Kindergarten class consists of 18 children and at least 2 teachers (9:1).

You may send a half page ad to labschool@utexas.edu. We will post your ad on the bulletin board in the UT Lab School hallway and is seen by undergrads and grad students as they enter and exit our space. The Department of Human Development and Family Sciences is unable to do any childcare referrals.

Yes! You can attend one of our monthly tours, or you can contact us at labschool@utexas.edu to schedule an alternate tour time.

We invite caregivers of currently enrolled children to come by anytime to observe their child from an observation booth! Simply check in with us at the front desk and we can check you in and guide you to the appropriate booth.

Currently, we are unable to accept tuition payments online. To pay enrollment and tuition installments, you can bring us a physical check, a money order, or set up scheduled payments with the "Bill Pay" option through most banks. 

If you choose to pay via Bill Pay, where it asks for an account number, please write your child's name and on the memo line, write the type of charge your payment is going towards (i.e. enrollment, tuition, summer camp, etc.) Then, have your bank send payment to us at P.O. Box 300455 Austin, TX 78703.