Rice University Statistics for Prospective Undergraduate Students
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Majors, Schools, and Degrees
(as of May 2000)

Majors with the Highest Percentages of Graduates, 1999-2000

This category listed the nine undergraduate majors with the highest percentages of graduates at May 2000 graduation
(includes B.A., B.S. and B. Music). A total of 703 undergraduate students were awarded a total of 738 degrees. Rice has one commencement ceremony each year in the spring; however, those students 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.

          Sources: The number of graduates in each major was accessed from AIMS (see footnote 1). Data on the
          number and percentages of undergraduate degrees awarded May 13, 2000 were derived from the IPEDS
          Completions Survey 1999-2000.

Schools and Areas of Study

Departmental majors listed were available for Fall 2000.

In addition, Rice prides itself on the numbers of students who earn multiple degrees and/or pursue interdisciplinary or
interdepartmental majors, which reflect the unique nature not only of the students, but the faculty as well. Interdepartmental Majors combine courses that are taught by faculty from more than one department.

In the School of Humanities, interdisciplinary majors are available in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations, Asian Studies,
Medieval Studies, and the Study of Women and Gender, while an interdepartmental major in Policy Studies combines
courses from the School of Humanities and the School of Social Sciences.

In the School of Social Sciences, both the interdepartmental Policy Studies major and the Cognitive Sciences major
incorporate course work in the Schools of Engineering and Management, while the Managerial Studies major incorporates course work in the Schools of Engineering and Management.

In the School of Architecture, students interested in architecture may choose between the four-year B.A. program or the
six-year Bachelor of Architecture (B. Arch) degree. Students completing the four-year B.A. who have been admitted to the B. Arch program during their senior year spend a fifth year in a working preceptorship with an architectural firm, returning to Rice to complete a final year of architectural study for the degree.

In the Shepherd School of Music, a music student may opt for either a B.A. in Music or a Bachelor of Music (B.Mus.) degree in Performance, Composition , Music History, or Music Theory. Students who pass the qualifying exam may elect an honors program that leads to the simultaneous awarding of the B.Mus. and the Master of Music (M.Mus.) degrees after 5 years of study, the final two years of which are devoted to the student’s particular specialization.

In the Wiess School of Natural Science, all natural science departments--including Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chemistry, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Earth Science, Mathematics, Physics, and Space Physics and Astronomy, with the single exception of the last--offer programs leading to the B.A. degree. Majors include biochemistry, biology, chemical physics, chemistry, geology, geophysics, mathematics, and physics. Students may also elect double majors combining one of the programs in natural sciences with another science, a humanities discipline, or an engineering field.

In the George R. Brown School of Engineering, students may elect a double major by combining environmental science with another science or engineering field. These programs lead to either the B.A. or B.S. degree and may qualify students for further graduate study.

In the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management, the Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program includes elective offerings in accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, management information systems, marketing, operations management, organizational behavior and human resource management, health-care management, and strategic management and planning. Also, the Jones Graduate School of Business and the George R. Brown School of Engineering offer a joint M.B.A./Masters of Engineering degree.

          Sources: Information on departmental majors, interdisciplinary majors, and interdepartmental majors can be
          found in Rice University General Announcements 2000-2001 catalog, which is available from the Office of
          Admission, and can be found on-line at  http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~catalog/.
 

Degrees

The listed degrees were those undergraduate and graduate degrees offered for Fall 2000. The specific requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree vary widely. No department may specify more than 80 semester hours (required courses,
prerequisites and related laboratories included) for the Bachelor of Arts. As a rule however, the majors leading to the B.A. at Rice are designed to fit the following parameters. To qualify for a B.A.:


To earn a B.S. degree, students met the following minimum semester hour requirements in successful course work:


Candidates for master’s degrees completed a minimum 30 hours of study (including thesis hours), 24 of which must be taken at Rice. Ph.D. candidates completed 90 hours of advanced study concluding in an approved thesis.

          Sources: More information on degrees available, required coursework, faculty, and other requirements can be
          found in Rice University General Announcements 2000-2001 catalog, which is available from the Office of
          Admission, and can be found on-line at  http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~catalog/.
 

Cooperative Degree Programs

Rice offers cooperative degrees with other institutions throughout the nation. The University of Houston and Texas Southern University, with Rice, offer a combined law degree and M.A. in legal and constitutional theory. The
Accelerated Interdisciplinary Legal Education cooperative degree program between Columbia University School of Law (Columbia) and Rice is a selective program which allows Rice students who have completed all their junior year requirements to apply to Columbia a year early. Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School, with Rice, offer a joint M.D., an advanced research degree for careers in medicine. Additionally, a religious studies degree can be obtained through a joint Rice and The University of Texas Health Science Center program; and a doctor of philosophy degree can be attained by study with the Baylor College of Medicine and Institute of Religion.

          Sources: More information on degrees available, required coursework, and other requirements can be found in
          Rice University General Announcements 2000-2001 catalog, which is available from the Office of
          Admission, and can be found on-line at  http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~catalog/. In addition, the Assistant Dean for
          Student Judicial Programs provided information and verification for the Accelerated Interdisciplinary Legal
          Education cooperative degree program.
 
 

Foreign Study and Exchange Programs 2000-2001

Rice students had the opportunity to receive credit studying abroad in American, Australian, Asian, European, and Latin
American universities through at least ___ programs:

          American University Washington Semester Program
          Butler University Institute for Study Abroad
          Beaver College Center for Study Abroad
          Institute for the International Education of Students
          Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome
          China Cooperative Program Language and Study Programs Initiative
          C.D. Broad Exchange Program with Trinity College, Cambridge
          Rice Fall Semester Program in Chile
          Rice University — Gakushuin University Exchange Program
          Rice University — Kyushu University Exchange Program
          Rice University — University of Lancaster Exchange Program
          Exchange Programs with Federation of German-American Clubs
          Rice University — Swarthmore Exchange Program
          Sweet Briar Junior Year in France Program
          Denmark’s International Study Abroad
          Sea Association Education

          Sources: More information on study abroad programs and other requirements can be found in Rice University
          General Announcements 2000-2001 catalog, which is available from the Office of Admission, and can be
          found on-line at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~catalog/.
 

During Fall 2000, __ Rice students participated in various study abroad programs.

          Sources: Data were accessed from Exeter Educational Management Systems.
 

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Last updated January 11, 2001.