Rice Architecture is the meeting point of design and discourse; of theory and practice; of past and future; of Rice and the world; and of our two inseparable aims: to educate architects and to position our graduates as leaders in a rapidly changing world. Generosity binds these aims to one another. Inside the school, the exchange of knowledge depends upon the magnanimous sharing of intellectual culture among students, faculty, and visitors to the school. Beyond the school’s boundaries, Rice Architecture is a catalyst, an advocate for architects and architecture to step unflinchingly into public life. Taken together, these mandates underscore our goal of forming architects whose ideas will continue to reverberate across contemporary culture. Our ambitions are simple. Our graduates will be prepared with knowledge. They will always be curious about what they don’t yet know. And they will continue to propose alternatives that foster an unyielding optimism about the future. The Rice Architecture B.A. is, decidedly, a liberal arts degree: our curriculum exposes students to the full breadth of architecture. The core curriculum coordinates courses in history/theory, technology, and design and organizes requirements in such a way as to optimize electives, permitting students to take advantage of course offerings across the university. The aim of this breadth is to ensure that Rice Architecture graduates will be ideally positioned as leaders in practice and other endeavors. In addition to the invaluable Preceptorship experience, fifth year students directly engage practice in the advanced Totalization studio in the fall semester of their final year; this unique program embeds distinguished consultants in the studios, emphasizing the intrinsic relationship of design to other fields, ranging from finance to fabrication. Finally, Rice Architecture emphasizes that architecture is a global practice that is as significant an issue in Houston (the fourth largest city in the United States) as it is in the European base of our Rice Architecture Paris program, and in our many courses that incorporate global travel.

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