Rice students step beyond classroom through Community Bridges to make ‘a real difference’
A new class of Community Bridges Fellows is stepping beyond the classroom and into the community through the program run by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Rice rises in US News rankings, recognized for value, teaching and innovation
Rice continues its upward trajectory in national and international rankings, earning the No. 17 spot in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.
Rice accelerates AI innovation to transform teaching, learning and research
With the 2025–26 academic year underway, Rice is taking bold steps to harness the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in teaching, research and operations. Guided by Momentous, the university’s 10-year strategic plan, Rice is positioning itself as a global leader in the responsible development and application of AI, computing and other disruptive technologies.
From Texas to Rajasthan: Rice senior explores nutrition, public health abroad
This summer, Rice senior Maya Harpavat traded the lecture halls of Houston for the winding roads of Rajasthan, India.
Stein’s impact lives on through new civic engagement fund
The Rice community celebrated the life and legacy of longtime political science professor Bob Stein and announced Fund for Social Policy Research.
Rice celebrated a major milestone Sept. 4 with a topping out ceremony for the new Chao College and the future permanent home of Lovett College.
Global impact: 7 Rice scholars awarded Fulbright scholarships for study, teaching abroad
Seven Rice graduates were named recipients of the Fulbright scholarship through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program this year, receiving funds to study, research and teach English abroad.
After spirited O-Week, Owls start new semester with ‘sense of unity’
Rice marked a historic milestone this month as it welcomed the largest incoming class in its history — 1,336 new Owls, including 63 transfer students. With traditions both new and old, O-Week gave first-year students and their families a warm introduction to the campus community.
Chao family gift supports, names Rice University’s 12th residential college
Amid unprecedented enrollment growth, Rice will open its 12th residential college, the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao College — referred to as Chao College — made possible by a generous gift from the Chao family foundation.
Rocketing to the top: Rice Eclipse claims victory at world’s largest collegiate rocketry competition
Rice’s largest engineering and student rocketry club, Rice Eclipse, soared to new heights this summer, taking top honors in the 30,000-foot Student Researched and Developed Hybrid Division at the 2025 International Rocket Engineering Competition.
Rice Emerging Scholars Program prepares first-year students for STEM success
Rice’s campus was buzzing this summer as students in the Rice Emerging Scholars Program wrapped up six weeks of challenging courses, hands-on projects and community-building. The end-of-program events and presentations marked the culmination of a summer designed to prepare incoming first-year students — particularly those from under-resourced high schools — for the pace, depth and rigor of STEM majors at Rice.
Rice joins national FirstGen Forward Network to strengthen support for first-generation students
Rice has been selected to join the 2025 cohort of the FirstGen Forward Network, a national initiative that recognizes colleges committed to advancing the success of first-generation college students.
In low-resource settings, babies born with gastroschisis — a congenital condition in which the developing intestines extend outside the body through a hole in the abdominal wall — face life-threatening challenges.
Faculty, staff now have access to AI tools Google Gemini and NotebookLM
Responsible AI is foundational to achieving the strategic goals and vision set forth in Momentous, Rice’s 10-year strategic plan. To further empower the campus to maximize the use of AI for premier teaching, research and operations, the university has expanded access to a broader set of tools.
Brown Teaching Grants encourage premier teaching, experiential learning
Rice University students will build skills in science labs, take high-impact field trips, hear from guest speakers, curate art exhibits, enhance learning through simulations, and more, thanks in part to George R. Brown Teaching Grants.
