Comparing anywhere to Silicon Valley is probably unfair. I moved from SF to Austin are they are too different to seriously compare. While UT can do better, the

Comparing anywhere to Silicon Valley is probably unfair. I moved from SF to Austin are they are too different to seriously compare. While UT can do better, there's nothing stopping the students from connecting with the various tech meetups and incubators around Austin. We're each responsible for our own education. I went to grad school at UT (advertising) and sadly almost nothing I learned there applies to my day-to-day work (co-founder at a web design/dev shop). I was a tad bitter when I finished but channeled the frustration into motivation. There are people within academia who get it (usually adjuncts or people with private sector experience), but most don't and never will. That's why they're there. The programmers I've worked with that have a CS background (formal or not) are a cut above those without. I'd liken it to a classically trained pianist. If you can play Beethoven you can easily figure out how to play pop, but the reverse isn't true.