Office of the Dean of Students -> Texas Leadership Education and Development - Project Advance Austin

Project Advance Austin

Are you interested in learning new skills and growing as a leader all while giving back to our local community? Project Advance Austin is a yearlong project management program partnering with local nonprofits. Working as a team, you will develop and execute a project to address a real-world service need.

Why Project Advance Austin?

Learn practical project management skills and effective strategies for working in a team. You’ll get support through regular team meetings and one-on-one guidance from our staff. The program closes with a showcase where you’ll present your hard work and accomplishments to our university and greater Austin community.

Project Advance Austin will give you:

Upper-Division course credit available for all participants:
- Fall – LA 125
  - Fridays (10 a.m. - 11 a.m.)
  - Fridays (11 a.m. - 12 noon)
  - Fridays (2 p.m. - 3 p.m.)
- Spring – LA 225
  - Times to be determined.
IBM Project Management Certificate upon completion.
Real-world project management and leadership experience.
A professional project to add to your resume.
Networking opportunities with local nonprofits and project management experts

Join Project Advance Austin

Team Manager Applications for 2025-2026 are now open! Are you interested in leading a team of student project managers to coordinate a high-impact project in the Austin community? Apply now! Applications close on 4/13/2025.

Apply to be a Team Manager

Download the Team Manager Role Description (PDF)

Commitment

For the fall semester: Three to four hours/week including
- A weekly 30-minute team meeting led by our staff
- Two to three hours of independent or group work.
- 1 hour in LA 125 class with guidance and instructions from Texas LEAD staff.
For the spring semester: Three to five hours/week, including
- One 30-minute team meeting led by our staff every two weeks
- Three to five hours of independent or group work.
- 1 hour in LA 225 class with guidance and instructions from Texas LEAD staff.
- An end-of-year showcase to share your work with the community.

Schedule

Project Advance Austin works on a customized weekly schedule set by you and your team. Outside of the weekly classroom meetings for LA 125 (Fall) and LA 225 (Spring) you and your project team will choose a time during regular business hours (8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday) to meet with Texas LEAD staff for guidance and support on your project. Outside of these meetings, your team is responsible for determining a schedule for project work that meets your availability.

Project Advance Austin Community Project Sites

Expand your reach by collaborating with Project Advance Austin for the 2024-2025 academic year! This program offers students real-world project management experience, empowering them to make a positive impact through service learning in the local community. Apply now to become a Community Partner with Project Advance Austin and amplify your impact!

2024-2025 Community Partner applications have now closed but will open again in May of 2025 for the following year.

Download the Community Partner Role Description (pdf)

In 2024-2025, student teams are working to address real-world service needs with the following organizations: