3,001
From its attractive grounds to its dedication to fostering unconventional wisdom, Rice University attracts div-erse students from all 50 states and 80 countries. The 300-acre campus, with its parklike atmosphere and neo-Byzantine architecture, sits just a few miles from downtown Houston. At Rice there is a symbiotic relationship among academics, student life, and real-world experiences that reaches from the classroom and laboratory to the city itself, which offers an array of cultural, athletic, and entertainment opportunities. Named the number one city in which to live and work by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance in 2008, Houston is home to numerous Fortune 500 companies, which provide students with valuable internship opportunities.
Rice enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduates, most of whom reside in one of nine coed residential colleges. (Two additional colleges are under construction and will open in fall 2009.) Based on similar models at Oxford and Cambridge, the residential college system encourages students to develop close relationships as they live, dine, and interact with one another and faculty advisers. Each college sponsors its own intramural teams, and students participate in self-government and other social activities unique to their college.
Rice’s schools of architecture, engineering, business, music, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are regularly ranked among the top programs in the country. Rice houses a variety of institutes and centers, including the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, a leading think tank that has brought a distinctive voice to the national policy dialogue. The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies offers the prestigious Master of Liberal Studies program and one of the largest selections of noncredit arts and sciences courses in Texas. The school enjoys nearly 10,000 enrollments a year and is well known for its professional development courses.