Support Undergraduate Student Life

At Rice University, we aim to provide a transformative learning experience for our students. We seek to provide all students with a challenging academic environment and curriculum that, when completed, will prepare them to successfully launch and excel on the career path of their choosing. While engagement with faculty both inside and outside the classroom is a key part of this process, it reflects just one aspect of the learning environment at Rice.

As the dean of undergraduates, I oversee a division comprised of 15 departments plus the residential college system. Each serves as a supportive resource for the living and learning environment on our residential campus – a platform of trained staff and faculty who stand ready to assist students in a variety of ways. Looking forward, we have identified the development of the following programs as critical for supporting the student experience at Rice. More detailed information about each of these strategic funding priorities can below found below the drop-down menu.

If you are interested in discussing how you can make a more significant impact on undergraduate student life at Rice through your current or long-term philanthropy, or to make a gift through appreciated securities, wire transfer, Donor Advised Fund (DAF), IRA Charitable Rollover, or through a deferred gift vehicle such as a bequest, please contact Sara L. Rice, Executive Director of Development for Schools, at slrice@rice.edu or 713-348-3189. To support an area of interest not listed in the drop-down menu, such as to a specific endowment or a capital gift, please select “Other” and specify your intent.

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The Access, Opportunity & Inclusion Gift Fund supports discretionary funding requests that can include (but are not limited to) diversity and cultural programming, or financial support for low-resourced students (for example, internship related expenses, test preparation, travel to advanced degree interviews, textbooks, course fees, financial emergencies, commencement regalia, tickets to Rice events, medical co-pays). Many of the student requests supported by this gift fund are submitted through the Access & Opportunity Portal.

The Center for Teaching Excellence provides pedagogical resources for faculty to expand and enhance the teaching and learning experience at Rice, to build community around teaching excellence, and provides pedagogical training to graduate students as future faculty.

The Rice Emerging Scholars Program combines a rigorous six-week academic summer bridge program with personalized and comprehensive mentoring and support during at least the freshman and sophomore years. The mission of RESP is to ensure that low-income and first-generation students in STEM persist, thrive, and graduate at the same rate as their peers, and that these students achieve their academic and professional aspirations as scientists and engineers.

The Student Wellbeing, Rice Counseling Center, and the SAFE Office provide critical prevention and awareness programming to students at Rice. The offices also attend student programming, groups, social events, College specific meetings, Student Association town halls, and much more.

The Civic Immersion program is a one-week pre-orientation opportunity for incoming first year and transfer students to learn about Houston through a critical-service and civic engagement lens. The program is run by student coordinators who, after substantial training, plan and implement the week of workshops, community partner engagement, and reflection grounded in core social issues and overarching concepts of social justice.

Support Undergraduate Student Life

Donation Form