The University of Texas at Austin (full official name), established in 1883, often UT or Texas for short, is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System, and the most prestigious university in Texas. Consistently ranked as one of the best public schools in the nation, it has a student population of 50,403 (as of 2004) — currently the third largest at a single campus in the nation, behind Ohio State University and University of Minnesota Twin Cities. In recent years admission has become very competitive. The school has many top academic and professional programs, including national top ten programs in engineering, computer science, business, Law and public affairs, among many others. Its astronomy department administers the McDonald Observatory located in the Davis Mountains  of West Texas.