re: Houston is the cultural capital of the South

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William Marsh Rice University, commonly known as Rice University, is a private research university in Houston, Texas. The university is situated on a 300-acre (121 ha) campus near the Houston Museum District and is adjacent to the Texas Medical Center.

Opened in 1912 after the murder of its namesake William Marsh Rice, Rice is now a research university with an undergraduate focus. Its emphasis on education is demonstrated by a small student body and 6:1 student-faculty ratio, and it has been nationally recognized as a leading university for undergraduate teaching. The university has a very high level of research activity, with $140.2 million in sponsored research funding in 2016. Rice is noted for its applied science programs in the fields of artificial heart research, structural chemical analysis, signal processing, space science, and nanotechnology. It was ranked first in the world in materials science research by the Times Higher Education (THE) in 2010. Rice is a member of the Association of American Universities.

The university is organized into eleven residential colleges and eight schools of academic study, including the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the School of Social Sciences, School of Architecture, Shepherd School of Music and the School of Humanities. Undergraduates select from more than fifty majors and two dozen minors, and have a high level of flexibility in pursuing multiple degree programs. Additional graduate programs are offered through the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business and the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. Rice students are bound by the strict Honor Code, which is enforced by a student-run Honor Council.

Rice competes in 14 NCAA Division I varsity sports and is a part of Conference USA, often competing with its cross-town rival the University of Houston. Intramural and club sports are offered in a wide variety of activities such as jiu jitsu, water polo, and crew. The university has produced numerous prominent alumni, including more than two dozen Marshall Scholars and a dozen Rhodes Scholars. Given the university's close links to NASA, it has produced a disproportionate number of astronauts and space scientists. In business, Rice graduates have become CEOs and founders of Fortune 500 companies; in politics, alumni have won positions as congressmen, cabinet secretaries, judges, and mayors. Two alumni have won the Nobel Prize, and numerous others are leading researchers in science, technology, and engineering.

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