RICE UNIVERSITY

private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Houston, Texas, U.S. The university includes the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Administration, Shepherd School of Music, Wiess School of Natural Sciences, and the George R. Brown School of Engineering. It also includes schools of humanities, social sciences, and architecture. In addition to undergraduate studies, the university offers a range of master's and doctoral degree programs. Rice, which is modeled after the classic English universities, consists of eight residential colleges, each functioning as a separate scholarly community. Total enrollment is approximately 4,000. The university was founded in 1891 and endowed by William Marsh Rice. The Rice Institute (as it was then named) opened its doors in 1912. Radio astronomer Robert Wilson, winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize for Physics, was a graduate of Rice University.