Cost of Study

Tuition

The tuition for full-time graduate students entering in the 2012-13 academic year is $34,900. For students enrolling in Architecture, Shepherd School of Music, and Professional Master's programs, tuition for the 2012-13 academic year is $26,160-30,000.

Annual fees are approximately $528 for 2012-13. In addition, all graduate students are required to have health insurance. All students are required to maintain continuous enrollment unless an official leave of absence has been granted.

After six semesters of full-time study in one degree program (excluding the summer semesters), continuing students are eligible for a reduced tuition rate. A semester of full-time study is defined as a fall or spring semester in which at least nine hours of credit are earned. The reduced rate, like standard rate, varies by department/program. For Architecture, Shepherd School, and Professional Masters in Natural Science students, reduced rate is $1,454-$1,528 per year ($727-$764 per semester). For all other graduate students, the rate is $2,034 per year ($1,017 per semester). Students who are admitted with a relevant master's degree, i.e. a master's degree that counts toward a doctoral program at Rice, may become eligible for reduced tuition earlier than those entering a doctoral program without a relevant master's degree.

Additional information regarding tuition and fees can be found on the Cashier's website.

Living and Housing Costs

As mentioned in Forbes Magazine, Houston has a reasonable cost of living for a major city. The Graduate Apartments, which opened in the summer of 1999, offers housing at moderate cost and is close to campus. Also available as housing options exclusively to Rice graduate students are the Morningside Square Apartments and the Rice Village Apartments.  Visit the Graduate Student Association website for information regarding other housing options.

Financial Aid

Most thesis students at Rice are supported by fellowships or research assistantships, and a few teaching assistantships are awarded.  In addition to the merit-based aid described above, the Office of Financial Aid  offers need-based aid in the form of loans and College Work Study to graduate students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or refugees.

Visiting Researcher Program

Visiting researchers are an important part of the Rice community; their positive and unique impact on Rice’s many academic programs is highly visible. Rice welcomes their participation, and has created the visiting researcher program to better serve their needs. The VRP program is designed for individuals who are at Rice for more than one month and pursuing their own research interests either independently or in collaboration with a faculty member or department. They may or may not be enrolled as students. Most visiting researchers require office and/or laboratory space on the Rice campus, as well as access to shared experimental and computational resources.

As a VRP, individuals will have the necessary internal financial resources to quickly and efficiently define their workplace and their research environment; they will also receive staff and information technology support and access to campus-wide resources (e.g. library, recreation center) if they are not already enrolled as students. The VRP program provides these resources quickly and efficiently to scholars, in a manner that ensures even short stays at Rice are productive. For more information about the VRP program please contact the Vice Provost for Research (research@rice.edu); note that all VRP must be sponsored by a Rice tenure-track faculty member.

Charges below may be waived in appropriate cases.