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
(for class entering 2002)

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 semester of 2002 and who returned in the fall semester of the year following their entry.

          Sources: Enrollment information was accessed from Banner. The freshman retention rate is calculated
          from data provided by Enrollment Management. Graduation rate cohort year of 1997 taken from IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey 2003.

 

Degrees Awarded, Spring 2005

On May 14, 2005, Rice awarded 721 undergraduate degrees. Professional (fifth-year) degrees in Architecture and Fine Arts were awarded to 25 students. Graduate degrees (master's 530 and doctorates 137) totaling 667 degrees were awarded. 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 and multiple majors data were accessed from the IPEDS Completion Survey 2005.

 

Postgraduation Pursuits

The average percentage of graduating seniors who were accepted into their first-choice graduate or professional school was 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 2002. 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 2002 questionnaire covered such areas as 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. Thirty-seven percent of the 2002 seniors responded to the survey.

The percentage of job seeking 2004 graduates who have accepted a position by graduation and the percentage of 2004 graduates who went directly into graduate school were taken from the Career Services Center 2004 Post-Graduate Survey.

          Source: Senior Survey Spring 2002. 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 2005)

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 2005:

Candace Chan (Chemistry)
Hanna Garth (Anthropology)

Rice University NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awards for Fiscal Year 2004:

Rice University NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awards for Fiscal Year 2003:

Rice University NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awards for Fiscal Year 2002:
 

• 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 August 29, 2005.