Unlike many universities, Rice doesn’t have sororities or fraternities, nor is there an honors college or an athletic dorm. Instead, we randomly sort our new students into one of 11 residential colleges. Each student is randomly assigned and stays in the same college throughout their undergraduate years. Thanks to the diversity of our student body, this creates a rich tapestry of traditions, culture, and, most importantly, community, within each college.
A faculty magister assigned to each college lives in an adjacent house and helps cultivate a variety of cultural and intellectual interests among the students, as well as supporting an effective system of self-government. Other faculty or members of the community serve as associates to individual colleges.
Our residential college experience conveys the rich flavor of academic life at Rice and allows students to combine their usual studies with an array of social events, intramural sports, student plays, lecture series, innovative college-designed courses, and an active role in student government.
Listed below, in order of founding, are Rice’s 12 residential colleges:
Baker College
Will Rice College
Hanszen College
Wiess College
Jones College
Brown College
Lovett College
Sid Richardson College
Martel College
McMurtry College
Duncan College
College 12 (opening Fall 2026)