The student population at Rice University is 8,961 (4,789 undergraduate and 4,172 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 2,242 over the past decade.
The percentage of undergraduate students at Rice is 53.44% which is increased by 879 over last 10 years. The graduate student population increased by 1,363 and it has been increasing.
The female to male ratio is 0.80 to 1 which means that male students enrolled more than female students.
541 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has decreased by % since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 7,712 where 8,961 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
53.44% of total students is undergraduate students and 46.56% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has increased by 879 and the graduate enrollment has increased by 1,363 over past 10 years.
The female to male ratio is 0.80 to 1 and it means that there are more male students enrolled in Rice than female students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Rice University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 6,719 | 3,910 | 2,062 | 1,848 | 2,809 | 1,797 | 1,012 |
| 2016-17 | 6,855 136 | 3,893 -17 | 2,042 -20 | 1,851 3 | 2,962 153 | 1,910 113 | 1,052 40 |
| 2017-18 | 7,022 167 | 4,001 108 | 2,112 70 | 1,889 38 | 3,021 59 | 1,964 54 | 1,057 5 |
| 2018-19 | 7,124 102 | 3,992 -9 | 2,086 -26 | 1,906 17 | 3,132 111 | 1,971 7 | 1,161 104 |
| 2019-20 | 7,282 158 | 3,989 -3 | 2,066 -20 | 1,923 17 | 3,293 161 | 2,065 94 | 1,228 67 |
| 2020-21 | 7,643 361 | 4,076 87 | 2,131 65 | 1,945 22 | 3,567 274 | 2,283 218 | 1,284 56 |
| 2021-22 | 8,285 642 | 4,247 171 | 2,187 56 | 2,060 115 | 4,038 471 | 2,580 297 | 1,458 174 |
| 2022-23 | 8,672 387 | 4,494 247 | 2,297 110 | 2,197 137 | 4,178 140 | 2,638 58 | 1,540 82 |
| 2023-24 | 8,556 -116 | 4,574 80 | 2,330 33 | 2,244 47 | 3,982 -196 | 2,472 -166 | 1,510 -30 |
| 2024-25 | 8,961 405 | 4,789 215 | 2,413 83 | 2,376 132 | 4,172 190 | 2,570 98 | 1,602 92 |
| Average | 7,712 | 4,197 | 2,173 | 2,024 | 3,515 | 2,225 | 1,290 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 4,197 where 4,789 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Rice University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 3,910 | 3,863 | 2,035 | 1,828 | 47 | 27 | 20 |
| 2016-17 | 3,893 | 3,836 | 2,004 | 1,832 | 57 | 38 | 19 |
| 2017-18 | 4,001 | 3,916 | 2,069 | 1,847 | 85 | 43 | 42 |
| 2018-19 | 3,992 | 3,899 | 2,028 | 1,871 | 93 | 58 | 35 |
| 2019-20 | 3,989 | 3,942 | 2,038 | 1,904 | 47 | 28 | 19 |
| 2020-21 | 4,076 | 3,960 | 2,066 | 1,894 | 116 | 65 | 51 |
| 2021-22 | 4,247 | 4,156 | 2,143 | 2,013 | 91 | 44 | 47 |
| 2022-23 | 4,494 | 4,393 | 2,241 | 2,152 | 101 | 56 | 45 |
| 2023-24 | 4,574 | 4,483 | 2,281 | 2,202 | 91 | 49 | 42 |
| 2024-25 | 4,789 | 4,684 | 2,353 | 2,331 | 105 | 60 | 45 |
| Average | 4,197 | 4,197 | 2,126 | 1,987 | 4,197 | 47 | 37 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 3,515 where 4,172 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Rice University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 2,809 | 2,609 | 1,707 | 902 | 200 | 90 | 110 |
| 2016-17 | 2,962 | 2,729 | 1,794 | 935 | 233 | 116 | 117 |
| 2017-18 | 3,021 | 2,781 | 1,822 | 959 | 240 | 142 | 98 |
| 2018-19 | 3,132 | 2,866 | 1,835 | 1,031 | 266 | 136 | 130 |
| 2019-20 | 3,293 | 3,019 | 1,911 | 1,108 | 274 | 154 | 120 |
| 2020-21 | 3,567 | 3,196 | 2,045 | 1,151 | 371 | 238 | 133 |
| 2021-22 | 4,038 | 3,692 | 2,360 | 1,332 | 346 | 220 | 126 |
| 2022-23 | 4,178 | 3,605 | 2,272 | 1,333 | 573 | 366 | 207 |
| 2023-24 | 3,982 | 3,489 | 2,147 | 1,342 | 493 | 325 | 168 |
| 2024-25 | 4,172 | 3,648 | 2,216 | 1,432 | 524 | 354 | 170 |
| Average | 3,515 | 3,515 | 2,011 | 1,153 | 3,515 | 214 | 138 |
The percentage of white students is 25.90% and the percentage of black students is 7.06% at Rice University. 21.31% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 13.42% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 37.51% to 25.90%. Asian enrollment grew from 17.31% to 21.31%. Black student enrollment increased from 4.75% to 7.06%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 10.42% to 13.42%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.8629 which indicates that highly diverse. This increased from 0.8152 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Rice University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 6 | 1,163 | 319 | 700 | 6 | 2,520 | 216 |
| 2016-17 | 9 | 1,175 | 337 | 714 | 5 | 2,554 | 218 |
| 2017-18 | 10 | 1,294 | 346 | 750 | 7 | 2,495 | 237 |
| 2018-19 | 9 | 1,307 | 383 | 802 | 9 | 2,462 | 225 |
| 2019-20 | 7 | 1,380 | 401 | 849 | 9 | 2,409 | 238 |
| 2020-21 | 6 | 1,498 | 486 | 907 | 7 | 2,553 | 271 |
| 2021-22 | 5 | 1,664 | 574 | 978 | 7 | 2,532 | 279 |
| 2022-23 | 6 | 1,775 | 602 | 1,042 | 6 | 2,396 | 300 |
| 2023-24 | 11 | 1,801 | 631 | 1,102 | 7 | 2,261 | 329 |
| 2024-25 | 14 | 1,910 | 633 | 1,203 | 5 | 2,321 | 358 |
| Average | 8 | 1,497 | 471 | 905 | 7 | 2,450 | 267 |
541 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 6% of total students. The number of online students has decreased % since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Rice University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 6,719 | 0 | 0 | 6,719 |
| 2016-17 | 6,855 | 0 | 0 | 6,855 |
| 2017-18 | 7,022 | 0 | 0 | 7,022 |
| 2018-19 | 7,124 | 44 | 84 | 6,996 |
| 2019-20 | 7,282 | 178 | 187 | 6,917 |
| 2020-21 | 7,643 | 418 | 6,683 | 542 |
| 2021-22 | 8,285 | 511 | 2,185 | 5,589 |
| 2022-23 | 8,672 | 498 | 412 | 7,762 |
| 2023-24 | 8,556 | 483 | 236 | 7,837 |
| 2024-25 | 8,961 | 541 | 291 | 8,129 |
| Average | 7,712 | 267 | 1,008 | 6,437 |
Share your experiences and thoughts about Rice University. It will be a great help to applicants and prospective students!