Rice Memorial Center & Ley Student Center

The Office of Student Success Initiatives (SSI) engages and supports Rice undergraduate students employing proactive advising and other high engagement strategies to facilitate students’ successful transition, retention and graduation from the university. Created in 2014, SSI works with students to uncover the various factors that might be impacting your success at Rice. Our team of dedicated advisors assists students with a variety of issues such as time management, cultivating Rice-level study skills, dealing with failure, and making the social, emotional, and navigational transition to college.

In support of Rice’s mission of providing a distinctive undergraduate experience, the Center for Civic Leadership (CCL) helps undergraduate students develop the knowledge, skills, and values to address the problems of the 21st century and to lead in a variety of community environments. The focus on civic leadership reflects not only Rice’s mission but a broader trend that recognizes the civic purpose of 21st century institutions of higher education to cultivate social responsibility and active citizenship. The CCL’s approach to leadership education stresses the development of knowledge to understand the complex challenges facing today’s society, skills to motivate and collaborate with diverse stakeholders to take informed action, and values to effect positive change.

With over 300 clubs from eleven different genres, the diversity of Rice’s clubs and organizations is unparalleled. Our clubs provide students with leadership experience, social networking opportunities, career preparation, and experiences that they will cherish for years to come! And the best part? There’s a club to match every interest—the only question is, which one will you choose?

Some of our more popular student organizations include Rice PRIDE; the Thresher, the no. 3 student newspaper in the country according to The Princeton Review; and of course, the Marching Owl Band.

A large number of student organizations address special student interests such as the Rice International Association, Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment (HACER), South Asian Society, Black Student Association and Chinese Students and Scholars Association. There are also numerous sport-related clubs such as sailing, rugby, volleyball and soccer; as well as religious and spiritual organizations.

Rice fosters an environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. The Student Center supports and advises four student run and managed businesses on campus including The Hoot (Rice’s premier late-night food service), Rice Bikes (which rents, sells, repairs, and even buys bicycles on campus), Rice Coffeehouse (a bustling shop that serves local coffee) and East-West Tea (where Rice students enjoy on-campus Boba tea). Full time undergraduate students are responsible for all aspects of their businesses including but not limited to finance, personnel, inventory, marketing and training. Working in a student run business provides a unique experiential learning opportunity to gain hands-on skills useful for any career path. Each business hires new employees every semester.

Undergraduate life at Rice University differs from that at many universities because of Rice's tradition of residential colleges. Before matriculating, each of the university's undergraduates becomes a member of one of 11 residential colleges. Colleges are selected to maximize diversity of background, perspectives and interests so that each college is a microcosm of Rice itself. Each residential college comes with its own colors, cheers and quirky traditions, which foster a sense of pride and family; in fact, when you ask a student on campus where they are from, they are more likely to say their residential college than their hometown! Most of the first-year students and about 75 percent of all undergraduates reside at their associated colleges. Learn more about our residential colleges online.

The Office of Academic Advising (OAA) directs, coordinates, and supports campus wide advising by providing training and comprehensive resources to all faculty, staff, and student advisors. Training and information sessions address our advising philosophy and model, academic rules and regulations, general graduation requirements, academic resources and educational opportunities, as well as guidance on advising strategies, techniques, and skills. The OAA also disseminates academic information directly through systematic programming in the residential colleges. Individual advising on general topics is available to all undergraduate students, and specialized advising is afforded to new students, student athletes, students interested in health professions, pre-law students, transfer students, students seeking readmission, students undecided about their major, students in need of academic support services.