Rice University

Rice University, in Houston, Texas, is a private university with a reputation as a major institution of a scientific research. It is home to the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, named for the nanotech pioneer. Rice was ranked as the number-one private institution in the the 2008 edition of The Princeton Review's America's Best Value Colleges.

Rice University currently has 3279 undergraduate students and 2277 graduates. http://www.professor.rice.edu/professor/Rice_University.asp?SnID=1929330276 These students are currently undertaking a course at one of the 8 schools within the university. The university campus is set on 285 acres of ground and comprise of 80 buildings. <ref> http://professor.rice.edu/professor/Architecture_and_Facilities.asp?SnID=1408462730 Rice University is a member of Conference USA and has a number of honors to its name including Baseball and Women’s Volleyboy Champions in 2009. http://professor.rice.edu/professor/Varsity_Sports.asp

Rice University was founded in 1891 by William Marsh Rice, but the first classes consisting of 77 students, were not held until 1912. http://www.professor.rice.edu/professor/Timeline.asp?SnID=596990997 Rice University has had 7 presidents since its opening; the current president is David W.Leebron. http://www.professor.rice.edu/professor/Past_Presidents.asp?SnID=596990997 The longest serving president was the first president at Rice; Edgar Odell Lovett who held the position for 38 years. Rice University was previously called both The Rice Institute and The William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters, Science and Art. http://library.rice.edu/collections/WRC/digital-archive-information/online-exhilbits/william-marsh-rice-founder-of-rice-university-exhibit The first Rice Ph.D was awarded in mathematics in 1918 http://www.professor.rice.edu/professor/Timeline.asp?SnID=596990997

Out of 650 schools surveyed for America's Best Value Colleges, Rice was ranked first for private colleges. According to the Princeton Review's site, the survey took over 30 factors into account, settling on schools with "excellent academics, generous financial aid packages and/or relatively low costs of attendance."The Princeton Review: America's Best Value Colleges For the 2007-2008 school year, Rice's tuition was $20,575 for out-of-state admissions, and $3,850 for Florida residents.The Dallas Morning News: Rice tops list of 'best-value' colleges

• The School of Architecture
• The George R Brown School of Engineering
• The School of Humanities
• The Jesse H Jones Graduate of Business
• The Shepherd School of Music
• The Wiess School of Natural Sciences
• The School of Social Sciences
• The Susanne M Glasscock School of Continuing Studies