---
title: Rice University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Houston, TX
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Rice University

Houston, TX · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $89,718 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $62,982 – $143,920 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $9,716 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $5,784 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 95% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $79,788 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 87% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.11× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $61,718 | derived |

**95% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $9,716 (≈ 11% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $28,009 to $128,659 across 11 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $128,659 | $41,000 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $122,770 | $12,373 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $87,989 | $11,644 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $78,801 | $13,178 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,400 | $15,375 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $56,339 | not reported |
| Cognitive Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,585 | $13,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,232 | $10,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,474 | $12,505 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $28,275 | $27,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,009 | not reported |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Rice University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?227757

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/rice-university-tx.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`