Building on their strategic global partnership for research and innovation signed in May 2024, Rice University and Université Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) today launched the International Scholars and Articulated Degrees Program.
“Rice’s partnership with Université PSL reflects our shared commitment to excellence, discovery and the global exchange of ideas,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “This new program expands the educational landscape for our students, giving them the opportunity to study alongside peers from one of the world’s premier universities while earning credit toward their Rice degree. It reinforces our ambition to prepare students for leadership in a connected and dynamic world.”
The first-of-its-kind initiative links two of the world’s leading research universities to create shared academic pathways and immersive undergraduate experiences across Houston, Paris and PSL’s campus in Sophia Antipolis, one of Europe’s largest science and technology hubs. Through the program, Rice students will be embedded at PSL to take courses preapproved for Rice credit, while PSL students will have the opportunity to take courses at Rice that will further their PSL major requirements and can apply to complete a Rice degree.
“Through this partnership, PSL and Rice are creating a bridge between two dynamic academic communities,” PSL President El Mouhoub Mouhoud said. “The International Scholars and Articulated Degrees Program will give our students access to an unparalleled combination of scientific excellence, cultural immersion and international collaboration.”
For both institutions, the initiative is a landmark advance in global education and a model for training the next generation of internationally engaged scholars and leaders.
“This collaboration represents an innovative approach to international education,” said Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Rice. “It provides a structured academic pathway for students from both institutions to experience different educational systems, expand their research opportunities and develop the global perspective necessary for solving complex challenges.”
The program establishes a coordinated undergraduate learning pathway between the two universities, allowing Rice students to spend one to three semesters studying at PSL’s Paris and Sophia Antipolis campuses, taking courses focused in environmental sciences. Likewise, PSL students may study at Rice’s Houston campus or through its Paris-based academic programs.
“The International Scholars Program embodies what a global university partnership should be,” said Caroline Levander, Rice’s vice president for global.rice.edu. “It goes beyond exchange to create a truly integrated learning environment, where students move fluidly between two world-class institutions to gain the knowledge, perspective and relationships that define a global education.”
“Bringing students from PSL and Rice together around environmental science is a major step forward in global education,” said Thomas Killian, dean of Rice’s Wiess School of Natural Sciences. “It highlights the importance of the field itself and demonstrates how global partnerships empower students to approach environmental challenges from a shared scientific and human perspective.”
For PSL, the partnership extends the reach of its new International Bachelor of Environmentally Engaged Engineering (I-BE³) program, operated by Mines Paris-PSL in collaboration with École nationale supérieure de chimie de Paris and École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris. The I-BE³ program combines project-based and interdisciplinary learning centered on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The curriculum has been articulated with Rice’s environmental science degree to ensure a clear and coordinated pathway for students pursuing both programs.
The agreement also allows qualified Rice students who wish to continue their studies at PSL beyond a single exchange semester to pursue the PSL I-BE³ degree, with courses reviewed and approved by Rice faculty to align with their Rice degree requirements in environmental science and related fields.
“This collaboration with Rice connects the academic excellence and international reputation of both institutions,” said Jennifer Heurley, PSL’s vice president for international affairs and cooperation. “It allows PSL students to work with exceptional peers and faculty in Houston while benefiting from Rice’s leadership in energy, climate, medicine and urban innovation.”
The May 2024 Rice-PSL agreement initiated a strategic partnership focused on advancing research in energy and climate, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, global health and medicine and urban futures. The new program extends that collaboration to undergraduate education, uniting shared academic priorities with a vision for globally minded innovation.