not tryint to personal, I was trying to defend trog's coynesscaus if I held his feelings, I would also be coy about giving specifics about who I was. All archi departments have touchy people, Rice has its share and this IS a SMALL school.

personally i think that there are positive and negative spins on the same issues...we pretty much agree about the general condition of the university but we spin them quite differently.

not tryint to personal, I was trying to defend trog's coynesscaus if I held his feelings, I would also be coy about giving specifics about who I was. All archi departments have touchy people, Rice has its share and this IS a SMALL school.

personally i think that there are positive and negative spins on the same issues...we pretty much agree about the general condition of the university but we spin them quite differently.

Wow. I will probably be leaving Rice and I am one of the people defending it. It is kind of weird. From my experience at Rice, I know that the undergraduate and graduate classes had different issues with the program. I am/was part of the undergraduate class, but a handful of graduates were pretty fierce in making their opinions known.

I enjoyed the program. i agree wit dhermann in the sense that there is no "unified design culture," but I think this is the case in most of the departments at Rice, at least the creative departments. From my experience in the visual arts and art history departments, I realized that no teacher seems to teach you how to do something. It seems like you stumble through for a while, grasping on critiques, things you've learned in classes, etc, until you find something. It is at times frustrating, but in the end I realized that the designs I produced were mine, not a professors, or what I thought someone wanted. I think Rice, as a whole, is all about giving you information that you internalizing and seeing what you produce.

The woodshop facilities are small, but have all the saws, sanders, etc anyone would possibly want. We also have a smart woodshop guy who is a industrial designer/photographer/atist who has a bunch of know how and if you have a concrete idea of what you want to do he will help you find a way to do it with the tools the school has. We have no fancy laser cutters or CNC machines. Quite a few students have gotten pieces for models laser cut, but there is something to be said about making your own model. I find it enjoyable. I think the studio spaces are quite nice (Except for Option 1, first year. You have a closet.). You are going to be in studio more than the woodshop, so I think this matters more.

I also agree with aaargink about Houston. I think the condition of Houston is interesting from an architectural viewpoint. It is also a nice cities. It might not ooze architecture like New York or LA, but it can hold its own. You just have to look around. There is a great museum district which includes the Menil, CAM, MFAH. The school of architecture and Rice Design Alliance have good lecture series. Even though I was sad to see Luke go, the publications people are doing a lot of new and intersting things (including the website, before it hadn't been update in years). Houston, Texas as a whole, lends itself to all of these conditions which you would not get in a typical urban enviroment. There is the suburban nature of most of its major cities, the freeways, the border towns, rural America, etc. Most people in the US live in these conditions. Design students should accept them and try to manipulate and modify them rather than ignore them.

The faculty may have their own design preferences, but in general, they don't try to mold you into "mini-thems." They might question you more than someone else, but they are just trying to get you to defend your idea and be sure of it.

I think there are a lot of intersting things going on within the school. My classes work ran the gamut from completely pragmatic to somewhere out in left field. I find this infinitely more stimulating and intersting that if everyone had a blob or a box on their desk.

I do have complaints about the school of architecture, but I think everyone probably has some. I wish there was more communication/interaction between the students within the school. I wish people would ask questions during lectures. I wish the school wasn't so shut off from the rest of the departments at Rice. I wish that I had an academic advisor. I wish that certain people in the administration were more approachable. I never had good luck with having wishes come true though. I just have to accept and move on, unless there are people (including myself) who want to do something about it besides complaining.

mies, are you in houston or texas anymore? your comments are great, bro...

Question regarding foriegn study-

Have any of you done the Paris program? I guess they accept 5 grad students... is it hard to get in if you want to do it, do they just take the top 5 students?

How about all those travel grants... if you have a place you want to go and do some independent study, how hard is it to get a grant to travel? I guess most people do it over the summer?

thanks

I know people who've done the paris program. You have to apply. Some people get rejected, but I haven't heard anyone complain of that too much. It's a small enough pool that it seems to work out if you want to go. THis spring actually they had trouble getting grad students to go, but then they got alot of interest for next year, so who knows.
It doesn't seem that hard to get the travel grants. Apparently they give out three per year for the summer, and you have multiple years to apply...

dillup,

The architecture school gives out quite a bit of money to travel, but I am not sure exactly how you get it as a graduate student. It is a black box for the most part as an undergraduate student (aka the money goes to the students that the faculty like more, no grant proposals are written). This is one of the things I found infuriating about the program, but I just went outside the department and applied for grants. Rice University gives a lot of money in the form of grants to students every year. You just have to do some research to find out about them.

I didn't pay attention to all of the awards given out to graduate students, but I knew there were thesis prizes, traveling money, etc. RDA also gives out money to students that submit proposal for a theme of their choosing.

IAESTE is also active at Rice University, and you can apply as an undergraduate or graduate. It is outside of the architecture department, but the internship placement program includes architecture internships. I am going to Zagreb, Croatia with this. I know another student in the department that went to Tunis, Tunisia.

I also saw something funky on the registration system this year that had a class called MArch I Internship. Do graduate students currently at Rice know if they are trying to expand the preceptorship program to include graduates?

I did the Paris program last Spring. It was amazing, and the students in other American programs there (Columbia, Illinois, Georgia Tech) seemed quite envious of our setup. We had a small 10-person studio in the 12th arr, a local Ph.D student TA, fantastic lecture series, field trips to Switzerland, and apartments scattered around the Right Bank. The program has only been around for a few semesters so there are still a few chinks in the organizational armor, but it was a fantastic way to spend my last semester at Rice. RSAP is not connected with any French university, which some may frown upon especially if planning to learn more of the language and culture. But some French students I talked to didn't think too highly of their own schools. Let me know if you'd like more info.

I'm a current grad student at Rice. I don't know anything about an official M.Arch internship-for-credit program, but that is not surprising because I never know what's going on here. That may be my main problem with RSA - maybe because it's so small, some news is never broadcast in an official way. And, as sahar said, we don't have advisors. On the other hand, I have gotten advising from several people anyway - since the "access" to your professors is good, you can be pretty informal about those things.
I have serious issues with Houston, and some issues with the Rice campus (there is nothing to eat!) but so far the School of Architecture itself has seemed quite good. You have a lot of leeway, so it's as challenging as you make it.

catpants,

Valhalla sandwiches for lunch. I think a drink, chips, and a sandwich are $4, but campus does suck in terms of getting food if you are off campus and not an undergraduate. You are totally right about news not be transmitted in a small school.

If you are talking about food in Houston, as a whole, email me. I know a ton of cheap yummy places. I am a vegetarian, so all have vegetarian friendly options.

straight up...if you're concerned about food and rice. it bites.

my name is eric and i'm an option 2. my email is ecr@rice.edu and if you have anything specific to say to me or questions to ask you can email me.

my general response would be stop worrying about what the school can do for you and start dreaming about what you can do for the school.

you're either going to have fun and make it or you aren't. blaming rice sure is easier than being introspective, though.

I am not bitter or victimistic. I had a conversation with a member of the administration, who made it clear I would not be receiving any awards. I do think students who won awards deserved to have awards, but I do NOT think that the awards should have been limited to a handful of students in a class where there were clearly other talented students. I stand by saying there are favorites in the school. I am sure they are at every school. It is just more apparent when the school is small.

The CNC machines are within the engineering departments (I know Civil Engineering has one) and architecture students do not have access to these buildings after hours unless the school set up something new with the engineering department.

I received an excellent education from Rice inside/outside the department of architecture.

archimorphic, with regards to your concern of my vegetarian dietary habits. I would always ask them for sandwiches sans fish sauce, but I usually got my banh mi from Givral's where it wasn't used.

And let's not forget, sahar, the super-secret NASA metal machine lab underneath the space-science building.

But let's face it: architects and students are perfectionists in their work and demand nothing less from the various beaurocracies they work under, however unrealistic. Rice is not a perfect program by any means, but the issues that were gnawing at the heels of the school five years ago - namely, material/machine resources, abroad programs, and new faculty - are much improved and almost satisfactory. It is safe to say that the dynamic of the school changes significantly with each incoming undergrad and graduate class. They will never have the big names and resources as the Ivies, but the small, casual environment is certainly welcome, as is cheap beer on the steps of Valhalla.

That said, I'm looking forward to having a different perspective at some point down the line.

meow meow meow. victimistic.

all the machines on rice campus are availible to all the students at rice, as long as you know who to talk to. i learned to weld, use a cnc mill, etc at rice for projects that needed these resources.

mmm.... fiiiiish sauce..... me-ow!

How small is an option 2 class?? like 20 people??

Yep, that sounds about right. Twelve people come from option-1 and the rest are incoming option-2s.

Sorry, I have to clarify:
A total of approximately 20 is correct, and 8 of those are incoming as option 2.

does that mean only '8' are accepted as option 2 each year?
well I guess id look for another goal... that is pretty depressing

I know with the undergraduate class they accept more people, assuming that all of them are not going to take the offer. I think it is roughly 35-40 for the underaduage class, and they end up with a class of 20-25. Probably something similar with the graduate students.

20-25 are accepted to option II - they assume that 10-12 will accept.

dont know very much about the recent upheavals etc at rice, but i have studied under clover lee over at ucla (and she was barely okay i have to say) and sean lally was on of my batch mates (he is good) - but honestly i would not consider rice as one of my options because of teachers like them. No offense here

And for the record i know someone who has got into the m.arch I (or eq.) program and is not going to go (there is a very very little chance this person might accept the seat) - so watch out for one more vacancy

From my understanding, 12 people were accepted into option 2 this year.

Lets be honest guys, there is nothing perfect about every program. You aren't going to like every faculty member and there will always be something to complain about, especially in architecture school.

I was accepted into the MArch 2 program and have chosen to go there. My reasons were that they really seem to invest in the students and due to the fact that it is small, there is much more interaction with the teachers. You can also gear your education towards your interests and there is a lot more flexibility within the program. It is also one of the best educations for the money and Rice has one of the largest endowments in the country.

Regardless of what anyone says, I think it is all in your attitude. You either approach it with a open mind or you go in there close minded and complain the entire time. It seems pretty obvious to me what the right choice is.

FACT, from the mouth of the graduate coordinator at rice: 20-25 are accepted to option II - they assume that 10-12 will accept. If they accepted ONLY 12, how could they ever expect more than 7 or 8 to attend???

thought about clover, never having taken a class with her, but she's been in a couple of my reviews and her crits are far and above the best that I've run across. insightful, relevant to the stage of the project, challenging...amazing.

Well, in the letter they sent me they said they only accepted 12 into the Option 2 program. So sorry to state what I read from them. It does make plenty of sense that some people won't accept so they should accept more and I am sure every school does that. I understand not everyone will accept but I am surprised that only half of the people they accept actually agree to go. Is that common for most universities? I also figure that they waitlist a few people, but I am just assuming that. I don't want to start an argument over the amount of people accepted since we both just want to find out about Rice. Either way, there will be about 12 people in option 2 and 12 in option 1 and we will be in studios of 24 with 2 teachers initially.

the way they word the letter is weird and misleading - they accept 20-25, expecting that 10-12 will attend - yes, most schools anticipate half or more will not attend out of those accepted. don't apologize, and I am not arguing, just letting you know they way it works. I'm sure someone at RSA would explain it to you, as they did me, if you called. I've also been told that at Rice, and other competitive schools, including Ivies, amount of applications received were substantially lower this year than past years.

I find it interesting that there was a lot less applications at all the ivies this year. Maybe that is why it seems everyone on this board seemed to get into them all.

matr,

As far as your comment above regarding the equipment at Rice, I would be very concerned if I was you. From what a teacher told me, there is a CNC machine coming next fall and some students bought a laser cutter and will comission work out to the students.

I chose Rice knowing this because to be honest at my previous school, Arizona State, I never really used those machines anyway. As far as I am concerned, good architecture was created before these machines so I don't think it will affect me. If that is something you want to explore I might go elsewhere to a school that has a more established shop rather than one that is just getting their cutting edge equipment. Otherwise, the shop had everything you would need but it is very small.

I chose Rice because it is a smaller program. Arizona State is much bigger and to be honest, it is easy to get lost in the shuffle and make a name for yourself even if you get all A's. That is why I didn't apply to Harvard who, from my understanding has 80 people per level which I think is too much. At Rice they really seem to invest in each student and that is something I missed at ASU. Someone was wondering earlier why Rice is so cheap and thinking that the education is not as good as the other ivies but that is because they have such a large endowement. Supposedly $500,000 per full time student. That is why they can afford to not charge an arm and a leg to go to school.

dood, really, we are going to be in class together next year so chill a bit - i might go elsewhere? well, i chose rice and am all too happy about my decision - see you in the fall, bro! i do agree with you, it does seem like everyone on the discussion boards got into the gsd, columbia, and esp yale - i'm passing on a couple of ivies to go to rice, not solely because of the money, but that is part of it. i'm so sick of living in nyc and cannot wait to, no matter how wierd it is, give houston a shot and live and study in a totally different place...

by the way, i heard some undergrad BUILT a laser cutter!? :-0 hmmmm

Yeah, overall I think Rice is a solid choice and as always, it is what you make of it. From my understanding, the students that were excited about the program when they came are still enjoying it and the one's that were complaining when they started are still complaining. Nothing or no one is perfect so I say we just go in there really enthusiastic and make the best out of the situation and I think we will be really happy with our decision in the end. There is a strong track record of good students coming from Rice so I think that speaks a lot for the university.

Yeah, some undergrads have a laser cutter, but I don't know how much longer they have in the program so we COULD only have access to it for only a year or so, I don't know. I am sure that it cost them a lot of money either way, so they are probably very willing to let the students use it for a while and earn back their money. I think any resources that we are lacking in equipment will come in the form of renowned visiting faculty and lectures.

Did you visit Rice? I went and I don't think you'll be let down with the campus if you like traditional campuses. It is in the best part of town which is a plus and very close to the musuem district. I am looking forward as well to studying at Rice and gaining a new perspective.

hi everyone

i went to rice a while back so i won't comment on the current staff, as that has mostly changed. i can comment on the size, resources, ambiance, and what happens after rice, as that has changed less than the staff. fyi, i came in under the option i program, ie i had a degree in another related field (from UT/Austin) and was at rice to get my m.arch as a first professional degree. after i graduated i worked for awhile for experience and licensing purposes and then went on to cambridge university (UK) for an m.phil in history and philosophy of architecture. my perspective comes from comparing my experiences at all 3 universities.

firstly, i think rice was an excellent undergrad school and a great option i program. alot of resources and attention were directed at those two programs. at the time i was there, the option ii was a less vital program than the other two, IMO. i'm not convinced that has changed now. however it may suit some students. it all depends on what you see yourself doing in 5-10 years time. most students have not thought that through, and they should because where you spend your graduate years will have big consequences in what you do next, who will give you a job, or what kind of design you will do if you are on your own.

the great things about rice for me were-- the student to teacher ratio, the general quality and sharpness of the students, a fairly well-funded school with plenty of studio space, and a casual atmosphere. i also received the morris pitman travelling fellowship one year, which paid for a 13-country tour of europe, scandinavia, and russia. my tuition was completely paid for. years later i am still in contact with a few fellow students and professors/mentors who have remained friends as well as useful professionally. i made contacts through visiting critics which allowed me the opportunity to go to cambridge, which was brilliant. at the time i was there there was a strategy to have as many diverse approaches and points of view as possible in the sequence of studios (the first 4 were required for the option i). this had its good points and bad, which are fairly obvious.

rice considered themselves 'form-makers' first and foremost. that meant a strong emphasis on developing a concept, on analyzing and breaking down a program, diagrams, and then working through a design. it was much lighter in theory than the ivies or aa or cambridge. theory was not well-integrated in the studios but tended to be 'brought in' by hiring one or two 'theorists'.

on the undergrad level, rice was excellent at producing architects who form the design/production core of strong offices such as I M Pei or Pelli. i would say that was its strongest point, especially with the preceptorship program, students were able to get into good offices and then go back once they graduated, if they so chose. this program did not exist at the graduate level. combined with the location in houston and a fairly laid back atmosphere, students need to know what their next move will be and be working on achieving that while still in the program, through making contacts and developing their portfolio, and making sure they get the right kinds of experiences during breaks (travel, work etc). there is much less guidance provided for grad students. you need to find staff that you can develop relationships with in order to open up opportunities.

my class had 8 people. we had the main studio critic and 2 assistants checking up on us. 125 people applied for my course/year, and 25 were accepted. the ones that didn't come mostly had applied to ivies and were accepted there. a few dropped out the first semester because they couldn't hack it or didn't want to. it was an intense 2 years as we caught up to the other grad students, then were integrated in studios with them, which was more laid back.

if you are seriously interested in a career in teaching/academia, then i'm not sure rice would be my first pick if the ivies were accepting me. i do know people who teach and came out of the grad program at rice, but they do not end up being the cutting edge or the theorists. i do think it is problematic that they have not set up the model-building shops with the latest technology. i am surprised that with lars running the show, the staff is not more social-issue oriented.

feel free to email me if you think i can help with your questions.

Ok so this is several years late - but it is the best post I've seen thus far about Rice.

I've been trying to decide between Rice and another school, and this really addressed some of my questions -

I don't care much about materials (in my opinion, those people who had the least materials are often the most creative about using the ones they do have). What worries me more is the lack of theory, lack of people interested in the social aspects of architecture (one of my strongest interests). Does anyone know if any of this has changed this year or last year?

I also wonder whether the program is influenced at all by the fact that Rice is so reknown for its engineering programs. For anyone that went to Rice, does this make the program more practical/technology focused?

As for the relative conservatism of the student class, part of me isn't bothered, and part of me is. I honestly don't care how much of the class is republican (even though I'm pretty staunchly liberal, at least it's fodder for political discussion) However, I really think that architeture has a huge ART component, and cities that are more conservative and more traditional have less of an experimental art scene, and cities with less of a dynamic art scene are bound to have more limited mentality with regard to the latest weird/artistic thing going on. Yes Rice may be in the museum district, I've heard this several times. Washington DC, where I live, also has some of the best museums in the country. However, Washington DC definitely does NOT have a cutting edge art scene, and no cutting edge designers come out of here. Can anyone give me real insight into these aspects of Houston? Is there a non-institutional art scene that is growing, outside of the established museums (or do they have to pay artists to go there?)

I'd appreciate anyone's insight.

Bettyloo,

I just finished at Rice in December, and regarding your concerns:

I found the opposite of a lack of theory. It was always a serious part of the studio discussion. The future trend will no doubt depend on the new dean, but with the faculty they have in place, I can't imagine this facet of the program will change considerably.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a lack of people interested in social aspects of architecture. If you are talking about the trend that has been seen in several schools to adopt a design-build program that works within its own community, then I would refer you to Danny Samuels and the Rice Building Workshop. They have worked with Project Row House to do something along these lines. I actually contacted him prior to applying to Rice with questions regarding that program. I would recommend you do the same.

On the relative political conservatism of the student class, I would say a few things. First the student class, at least within the school of architecture, did not come across to me as conservative at all, but this would depend on your own personal perspective of the term. The fact is that you will be in Houston, Texas, and if conservatism bothers you then you should consider that. Honestly though, no matter how liberal we architects may be, we will be designing for everyone, and what Houston can offer is a no-holds-barred example of the modern metropolis as it pertains to politics, technology, economics, environment, society, etc. The city itself is a tremendous example to study if you’re interested in the right things, and in this respect it can offer as much if not more than any place in America.

Regarding the engineering issue my answer would be absolutely no. Rice is not a program that is overly focused on the practical/technological. Certain studios can feed off of the engineering programs, but it is not something that happens on a regular basis. Last fall there were studios that focused on emerging technologies, and I know that certain topics were researched in the engineering departments like robotics, nano-technologies. It helped that the university has world renowned programs in these fields. But, again this in no way translates into an overly technical/pragmatic pedagogy.

I can offer less on your concerns about the art scene. I never really searched it out, but I don’t doubt that its there. However, I don’t know if its as cutting edge as it sounds like you are looking for, but the art scene you’re describing in my opinion only exists in a few select places around the country.

Hope this helps.

Following edgewood even though I graduated a year earlier.

1) There is plenty of theory floating around, but its hard to see where its gonna go cause who knows where the new dean will take things.

2) Rice Building Workshop does their own thing, its kind of a heterotopia within the school. That said, the profs that teach the class are absolutely great to work with. I should know since Nonya Grenader was my thesis director. Otherwise, I saw zero interest in social issues in architecture. And good lord, there was even less social activism.

3a) The students are NOT politically conservative. I don't know who or what gave you that idea. They may be politically apathetic, but no more so than the typical student that went to Berkeley with me in undergrad (trust me, you don't get into one of the premier schools in the universe (cal) by giving a shit concerning anything outside your little high school bubble).

3b) Architecturally speaking I think the students (particularly undergrads) are whatever the institution molds them to be - just like any other architecture school - and if you think Rice is architecturally conservative, I guess the students would be also. I happen to be architecturally conservative while politically liberal but coming in as a grad student that kind of is more idiosyncratic.....

3b) Houston as a city has a rep of being conservative. Hell, we are an oil town so yeah, I'm rooting for the price of oil to go up $20 a barrell to...but remember that Harris County voted for Obama (over McCain and Hillary). And trust me, I doubt you will find a more diverse city outside of New York. I come from Cali, and if you just drive a few minutes here or there you'll find more diversity in this city than in SF or LA. Plus the food is cheaper.

4) RSA exists in its own milleu. Do not expect any collaboration with outside departments (except for Prof. Cannady and the Business School, which is a very interesting experience). That said, if the sparseness of faculty is anything like the past couple years, you may HAVE to go outside of the school of architecture just find a class that interests you that you haven't already taken. Did you know that Rice has one of the premier Victorian Literature departments in the US?

5) Looking for non-institutional art scene? Well, by definition, I guess that type of non-instiutional scene would not be connected to Rice U would it? Rice Students, with their nose to the studio grind stone would most likely not be hanging with a bunch of goth pot smoking hippie arteests. But it exists. Cost of living is still pretty cheap here and so if you dig around, I'm quite sure you would be able to find an art scene. I suspect the art scene out here is closer to the DIY funky arty Oakland, CA scene than the sophisticated sf/ny type shit. But I haven't connected with the artists out here like I did in my Berkeley days. All I know is that we do have an Artest on the rocket's roster....

like I said, I've been out for the past year.5 so things may and will have changed...but there's my 5 cents.

Thanks a lot everyone - really helpful!

I grew up in Houston and was sorta involved in the art scene during HS... this was 7 years ago, but one hub was
Diverse Works: http://www.diverseworks.org/

also Foto Fest:http://www.fotofest.org/

the Orange Show: http://www.orangeshow.org/

Art Car Parade: http://www.orangeshow.org/artcar.html



But where the scenei s *now*, I have no idea.

I actually just visited Rice myself last week... I sat in on one of the final panels. It sounded VERY theoretical (this is to a non-architect's ear, granted.) They were studying the city in terms of archipelago.... A lot of words like "porosity" and "site specificity" and a whole stream of slang I couldn't wrap my head around. It seemed very high brow to me.

What I liked about the school was how intimate it felt. The administrator I spoke to knew each student by name, interest, and background... it felt like each person got personal attention.

I spoke to a student about Houston, and they said it was an interesting city because there's no zoning here.

Good luck!