About Rice University

Rice's small size allows personal interaction between students and professors, while our eminent faculty foster the intellectual excitement of a major research university. Almost 30 percent of the 5,556 students at Rice are engineers. With about 625 graduate students to the 113 engineering faculty, our low student faculty ratio means our students get individual attention. A Rice education offers personal involvement and excellence in programs that prepare graduates for a changing world.

Helpful Links
Rice Graduate Student Portal
Virtual tour of the School of Engineering
Graduate Student Association
Graduate Housing
Office of International Students and Scholars

Tuition & Financial Aid
A list of tuition and fees for the 2009-2010 academic year, including medical insurance fees, can be found at Cashier's Office web site.

Sources of Financial Assistance
Because the Professional Master's Degree is a non-thesis (non-research) degree, Rice University does not offer tuition waivers, stipends, fellowships, or assistantships for this program.

However, other sources of financial assistance exist, mainly in the form of loans. Visit the Rice Office of Financial Aid for more information on loans, work-study programs, and outside sources of aid.

Loan options include federal subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, and private loans. International students are eligible for loans from commercial lending institutions if they have a co-signer who is a US citizen. If you have questions about which type(s) of loans may be best for you, please contact Office of Financial Aid at fina@rice.edu

Other sources of financial assistance and information can be found at the following websites:

• FinAid Guide to Financial Aid
• FinAid Financial Aid Guide for International Students
• EduPASS: Financial Aid Information for International Students
• Society of Exploration Geophysicists Foundation Scholarship Program
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund
• Scholarshiphelp.org

Housing
Rice provides a choice of three university-owned apartment complexes, which are assigned to full-time graduate students on a space-available basis. In addition, residential neighborhoods within a walk, bike ride, or short commute from campus offer a wide variety of housing options. Houston has the second lowest cost of living among major U.S. cities and housing costs about 33 percent below the average for other major urban areas, so you're sure to find living quarters that meet your space and budget requirements. Visit the Graduate Student Housing page for more information.

Other Housing
The Rice Student Center maintains a database of local apartments for rent.

More About Rice and Our Larger Community