The information presented in this Annotation represents Rice University management's description of procedures and definitions used to compile and determine amounts presented on the page of statistics concerning commencement and beyond. This information is presented to assist the reader in understanding that page.

Rice University, a small, private, and highly selective research institution in Houston, Texas, has created Statistics for Prospective Undergraduate Students . Detailed definitions and descriptions, sources, and methodologies used in this compilation are described in this and other appropriately linked pages of annotations and apply specifically to this web site. Different time periods reflect unique or official reporting dates and are used to present the most current information available.

Retention and Graduation Rates
(average rates for classes entering 90, 91, and 92)

Retention refers to the number of degree-seeking students who were enrolled at the beginning of an academic year and who returned the fall semester of the following academic year to continue their program of study. The freshman to sophomore year retention rate is the percentage of the first-year students who entered during the fall semesters of 1990, 1991, and 1992 and who returned in the fall semester of the year following their entry.

The graduation rate tracks the number of years to degree attainment for degree-seeking students in each fall semester's
entering class. The figure shown was the average of the six-year graduation rates for classes entering Fall 1990, 1991, and 1992. Of the 1990, 1991, and 1992 first year students, 90% had graduated within six years of their entry into Rice. Rice's graduation rate reflects the time to degree not only for students who progressed within the traditional four years, but it also included those who may have taken a leave of absence of several semesters for personal reasons or for study abroad. Also included are students with double and triple majors.

          Sources: Enrollment information was accessed from AIMS (see footnote 1). The average freshman retention
          and graduation rates for the 1990, 1991, and 1992 entering classes were calculated by the Office of
          Institutional Research from data provided by the Office of the Registrar in Graduated or Last Year
          Registered as of Summer 1998 Report. The latter is available on the web at
          http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~reg/reports/degrees_report/grad_rates.html
 
 

Degrees Awarded, Spring 2000

On May 13, 2000, Rice awarded 716 undergraduate degrees to 681 students. Professional (fifth-year) degrees in Architecture and Fine Arts were awarded to 22 students. Graduate degrees (master's 376 and doctorates 115) totaled 491 degrees and were awarded to 479 students. Rice has one commencement ceremony each year in the spring; however, those students (undergraduate, graduate, and "fifth year") who complete all degree requirements at the end of the fall semester are eligible for mid-year degree conferral, but diplomas are not issued until the May Commencement.

          Source: The degrees awarded data were accessed from AIMS (see footnote 1). Information on the number of
          undergraduates with multiple majors among the May 2000 graduates was provided by the Registrar. The
          number of degrees awarded and the number of student recipients were reported by the Registrar in the
          document Summary of Degrees Awarded May 13, 2000. This report can be found at
          http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~reg/reports/degrees_report/deg_awarded_99_p1.html
 

Postgraduation Pursuits

These statistics are taken from the results of a questionnaire that was sent by the Office of Institutional Research at Rice
to the graduating seniors in the spring semester 1998. Every four years since 1994, in concert with other institutional members of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE), Rice has been surveying its graduating class in order to gauge the seniors, perceptions of their undergraduate experience. The 1998 questionnaire covered such areas at the students, immediate and long-term plans after graduation, their level of satisfaction with their undergraduate education, their evaluation of various services and facilities on campus, the activities in which they participated during college, how they financed their undergraduate education, what Rice could have done to improve their undergraduate experience, etc. Fifty-one percent of the 1998 seniors responded to the survey.

          Source: Senior Survey Spring 1998. The survey results were tabulated by COFHE and sent to Rice for
          analysis. The data were analyzed and reported by the Office of Institutional Research. These data are
          considered confidential and proprietary; so, the data, analyses, and work files are kept in a secure environment
          in files in the Office of Institutional Research.
 
 

Recent National Recognition
(as of May 3, 1999)

These are national scholarships and fellowships that were awarded to some of Rice's undergraduate and graduate students. Information on the requirements for most of these fellowships and scholarships can be found on the Rice web site at:

           http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~acadadv/scholarship/natsch.html
 

• Beinecke Memorial Scholarships

• Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarships

• Fulbright Scholarships

• Goldwater Scholarships

• Luce Scholars

• Marshall Scholarships

•  Mellon Fellowships

• National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowships:     http://www.acq.osd.mil/ddre/research/opportunities.html#anchor1575326

• National Science Foundation Fellowships

Rice University NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awards for Fiscal Year 2001:
 

Name  Bartmess-LeVasseur, Elizabeth Noemi  Bilyeu, Danielle Monique  Borck, Jonathan Christian  Chung, Jae  Conrey, Frederica R.  Eatinger, Seth Andrew  Emerson, James Jordan  Foster, Kimberly Ann  Harrison, Christopher Allen  Harrison, Scott Anthony  Hillson, Nathan J.  Holland, Theresa Ann  Hunt, Dana Elise  Meyer, Michelle Margaret  Pham, Thuy Linh Nguyen  Placas, Aimee  Vandesteeg, Nathan Alan  Wagner, Raymond Summers  Wakin, Michael Bruce  Weber, Bethany Jo

Major PSYCH/SOCL  ECOLOGY  E/ENVIRON  CULTURAL ANTH  PSYCH/SOCL  E/ELECTRCL  EVOLUTION  COMPU BIO  E/CHEMICAL  E/CHEMICAL  BIOPHYSICS  E/BIOENGR  E/ENVIRON  MOLEC BIOL  CELL BIOL  CULTURAL ANTH  E/POLYMER  E/COMPUTER  E/COMPUTER  PSYCH/COGN

Institution of Study U of California-Santa Barbara  Colorado State U  U of California-Berkeley    Northwestern U/IL  Stanford U/CA  U of Chicago  Scripps Research Inst/CA  U of Delaware  U of Michigan  Harvard U/MA  Duke U/NC  Massachusetts Inst. of Technology  Stanford U/CA  Stanford U/CA    U of Massachusetts-Amherst      Rutgers State U-New Brunswick/NJ

Rice University NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awards for Fiscal Year 2000:
 

Name Anshelevich, Elliot Ilya  Chang, Lisa Hyejin  Cranmer, Kyle Stuart Green, Brian Michael  Kanan, Matthew William  Lin, Champion Cheng  Melton, Julia Suzanne  Oppenheimer, Daniel Michael  Renwick, Alexander   Schowe, Catherine Anne  Thomas, Gwen Elizabeth  Wang, Wei

Major  CS/THEORY  E/MECHANICAL  PHYS/PART   BIOCHEM   CHEM/ORGNC  E/COMPUTER   CHEM/THEOR   PSYCH/SOCL   MATH/APPS  CELL BIOL  CS/ART INT  E/ELECTRCL

Institution of Study Cornell U/NY Georgia Institute of Tech U of Wisconsin-Madison Massachusetts Inst of Technology U of California-Berkeley Massachusetts Inst of Technology U of California-Berkeley Stanford U/CA Rice U/TX U of California-Berkeley Carnegie Mellon U/PA Massachusetts Inst of Technology

• Phi Beta Kappa Initiates http://www.pbk.org

• Rhodes Scholarships

• Truman Scholarships

• Udall Foundation

• Watson Fellowships

• Whitaker Foundation Fellowships http://www.whitaker.org/grants/fellanc.html

          Sources: This information is found on the Rice University and other web sites. Additional sources were used to
          confirm the information, including correspondence with the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and
          correspondence with award sponsors.

Go to Rice University Statistics for Prospective Undergraduate Students

Go to Statistics on Commencement and Beyond

Last updated June 11, 2001.