Graduate Cost and Financial Aid

Reduced Tuition¹ - After six semesters of full-time study in one doctoral degree program continuing students may be eligible for a reduced tuition rate. A semester of full-time study is defined as a fall or spring semester in which at least 9 hours of credit are earned.

Student Health Insurance² - All registered, degree-seeking students are required to maintain health insurance coverage while enrolled at Rice University. Therefore, all students are REQUIRED to either enroll in the Rice Student Health Insurance Plan, administered by Aetna Student Health or request a waiver of the Student Health Insurance plan by demonstrating comparable insurance coverage.

Please visit the Student Health Insurance website for important dates and instructions on how to enroll in or waive the student health insurance plan.

Housing³ - There are many on and off-campus housing options available to graduate students. The cost listed above is the current 12-month cost of a 1-bedroom floor plan at Rice Graduate Apartments (RGA). In addition to RGA, graduate students can apply to live at Rice Village Apartments (RVA) or Rice Village Townhomes (RVT), all of which are owned and operated by Rice University. 

Please visit the Rice Graduate Housing website for more information.

Living Expenses⁴ - This is an estimated annual cost of food, groceries, transportation, and other miscellaneous expenses. 

Graduate students must submit the Shepherd School of Music Financial Assistance Application to be considered for scholarships offered by the Shepherd School of Music.  After you have been accepted, and if you are a U.S. citizen, you may also apply for student loans to cover any portion of your tuition that is not covered by scholarship, plus living expenses. For more information, please visit the graduate section of the financial aid website here.

International students are not eligible for need-based financial aid and will be required to provide proof of the ability to pay the entire cost of attending the Shepherd School before the I-20 can be issued by OISS (Office for International Students and Scholars).

Financial sources can include personal or family funds, Rice funding or other outside grants or scholarship sources. Please note the following distinctions: 

Financial Aid

Monies awarded by the Rice Office of Financial Aid based on financial need established by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is given in the form of student loans.

Graduate Scholarship

Admitted graduate students¹ can expect to receive partial- to full-tuition awards, occasionally with additional payments (formerly called stipends).

^1. Doctoral Students: click here for additional scholarship information.