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Rice University, a privately endowed, nonsectarian, coeducational institution, was founded in 1891 as the William Marsh Rice Institute, dedicated to the advancement of letters, science, and art. The university occupies a 300-acre tree-lined campus located one block northwest of the Texas Medical Center and approximately three miles southwest of Houston's central business district. Engineering has been a part of Rice's curriculum since the university first opened as The Rice Institute in 1912. In those early days Rice offered courses in chemical, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. Over the years, the engineering program grew, and in 1975 the George R. Brown School of Engineering was established. Today the school is comprised of nine academic departments and includes seventeen research institutes and centers.
Houston, where Rice University is located is America's fourth-largest. This city is a cosmopolitan destination, filled with world-class dining, arts, hotels, shopping and nightlife. Take a stroll through the historic heights; spend the day exploring the Museum District or head down to Space Center Houston. Later on, grab a bite in one of dozens of award-winning restaurants, or hang out with the cool kids on Washington Avenue. There's always something to do in this Southern hospitality meets urban chic city. Now coming to the cons - the traffic, the oppressive heat and humidity, the zoning free areas and nasty locals are common issues people living in Houston have to put up with.
Rice has 11 residential colleges and over the past five years has added a dining facility, a recreation center, a bioscience research building, a physics building, a renovated athletics facility, an expanded student coffee house, a central pavilion where faculty and students meet for coffee and conversation, a James Turrell sky space and other public art, and a lighting system for nighttime recreation on several intramural playing fields
Rice Graduate Housing Services take care of the students’ accommodation. They also make a shuttle service available to the students for easy transportation to and from campus, nearby grocery stores, and shopping centers. They also provide free high-speed internet with the Rice network which gives the students access to Fondren Library’s online journals and databases.
The Climate of Houston is humid subtropical. August normally ranks as the warmest month at 84.6 °F (29.2 °C) and January the coldest month at 53.1 °F (11.7 °C). Occasional severe weather of Houston mostly takes the form of flooding. Supercell thunderstorms sometimes bring tornadoes to the area, most commonly during spring. Houston sometimes experiences tropical cyclones during the Atlantic hurricane season, which can bring heavy rain and significant damage to the city. The last hurricane to hit was Hurricane Ike in 2008.
When walking on the Rice campus, it’s hard to imagine you are only three miles from bustling downtown Houston. The tall hedges, green lawns, abundant trees and architecturally distinct buildings form a serene, self-contained environment. Just outside the hedges, Rice is surrounded by some of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the city and the Rice Village, a popular area of shops and restaurants. Within walking distance of campus are the city’s vibrant museum district, the Texas Medical Center and Hermann Park. Houston’s light-rail line can transport you to downtown attractions and major sporting events in a flash. There is a Rice Graduate Students’ Association formed for the benefit of the graduate students. The campus hangouts include the Recreation Centre, The Rice Coffeehouse, the Student Centre, Willy’s Pub and Valhalla (Rice’s Graduate Student Pub). The Recreation Centre ensures that extracurricular activities such as Aquatics, Club Sports and Intramural Sports etc. take place. Rice is currently ranked No. 1 for happiest students and No. 2 for best quality of life, best-run college and students’ love of their school in the Princeton Review’s “Best 377 Colleges.”
James E. Gunn, Baker 1961, astronomer at Princeton University, 2009 recipient of the National Medal of Science. James A. Kahle, Will Rice 1983, IBM Fellow and chief architect of the POWER4 and Cell microprocessors. Wayne Hale, Hanszen 1976, mechanical engineering and Space Shuttle Flight Director for 40 missions between 1988 and 2003. Mark Durcan, (1979 – 1984), Master of Chemical Engineering and a BS Chemical Engineering, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Micron Technology.