Admission

Graduate study is open to a limited number of extremely well-qualified students with a substantial background in their proposed field of study. Each graduate program determines whether applicants have enough preparation to enter a given program, emphasizing the quality of their preparation rather than the particular academic program they completed or the credits they earned.

Admittance to a Rice University graduate-degree program, with the exception of those in the School of Music, requires a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an international institution officially recognized by that country’s Ministry of Education or its equivalent as determined by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. For the Shepherd School of Music, the equivalent to the baccalaureate degree will be determined by the school's graduate committee.

Admittance to a Rice University graduate certificate (i.e., a non-degree credential) program also requires a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an international institution officially recognized by that country's Ministry of Education or its equivalent as determined by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.  Applicants must meet the minimum admissions qualifications for graduate student study, as articulated below.

Applicants for admission to graduate study should either contact the appropriate department for application forms and relevant information about the program or visit the department’s website for online application information. The Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website also has links to the graduate departments’ websites.

Application Requirements and Process

An application for graduate study should include the completed application form, the application fee, transcript(s), recommendations, and writing samples, if required. Some departments require standardized testing as part of the admissions evaluation. See individual departmental listings for specific requirement information.

To make sure scores are available when admission decisions normally are made, applicants should take any standardized test by December before the fall for which they are applying.

Application deadlines vary by department and degree program. In general, these occur between December and February for fall semester admission, and departments may occasionally consider late applications. Some departments will also accept applications for the spring semester. See individual departmental websites for specific information regarding application deadlines.

Admission depends on students’ previous academic records, available test scores, and letters of reference from scholars under whom they have studied. Writing samples, portfolios, statements of purpose, and work experience may be evaluated as part of the admissions decision. In general, applicants should have at least a 3.00 (B) grade point average, or the equivalent, in undergraduate work.

Applicants who are foreign nationals or whose native language is not English must provide objective proof that they meet one of the following thresholds as proof of English proficiency: 

  • At least a 90 on the iBT TOEFL. 
  • At least 600 on the paper-based TOEFL.
  • At least 7 on the IELTS.
  • At least 115 on the Duolingo test of English proficiency.
  • The applicant has completed, or is expected to complete, a post-secondary degree from an institution in which English is the official language of communication or instruction. A list of previously approved institutions can be found on the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website.

If a student does not meet the minimum English language requirements through one of the paths above, but the degree program considers the student's English communication skills to be adequate to succeed, the department chair, admissions chair, or director of graduate study can pursue a waiver by submitting a petition to the dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies.

Offers of admission and financial aid are delivered to the student directly via their applicant portal. Offers of admission not sent directly through the applicant portal are not valid. 

Graduate students seeking to transfer to another graduate department at Rice may do so after being admitted to the new degree program and being released from their current department. A student is not eligible to return to any Rice graduate program following a dismissal. Students who have previously been on probation at Rice must petition the dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies for admission into any graduate program, regardless of their current enrollment or probationary status.