Rice provides financial aid in four ways:
- tuition waivers
- graduate fellowships
- research and teaching assistantships based on merit
- need-based aid such as federally insured loans
Tuition waivers are granted in an amount equal to Rice's tuition, which is $57,210 for 2023-2024.
Graduate fellowships, unlike teaching fellowships awarded by many universities, entail only a modest teaching or research assignment (a maximum of ten hours per week during the semester); consequently, graduate fellows can engage in full time study. At present these fellowships provide incoming students at least $32,000 per year. Most students receive commitments for five years of support, contingent on maintaining good standing in the program and satisfactory academic progress.
Numerous opportunities for additional summer funding (often supported by faculty grants), pre-dissertation and dissertation research support, and conference travel funding are also usually available.