Rice University School of Humanities

What Rice University School of Humanities does

The School of Humanities and Arts is an academic unit within Rice University, a private research university founded in 1912 and headquartered in Houston, Texas. The school delivers undergraduate majors and minors, doctoral programs (in Art History, English, History, Philosophy, and Religion), master's programs (MFA in Creative Writing, MA in Religion), and graduate certificates across eight academic departments: Art, Art History, English and Creative Writing, History, Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Philosophy, Religion, and Transnational Asian Studies. It also operates seven interdisciplinary centers — including the Chao Center for Asian Studies, Humanities Research Center, Center for Environmental Studies, and Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies — and roughly ten cross-departmental programs such as Medical Humanities, Museums and Cultural Heritage, and Media Studies.

Its primary customer segments are undergraduate students, graduate students, and a smaller cohort of lifelong learners and alumni pursuing continuing education. The school does not generate revenue as a commercial entity; financial inflows flow through Rice University's broader budget and consist of tuition and fees, endowed funds and donor gifts (notably from the T. T. and W. F. Chao Family Foundation and Susan and Fayez Sarofim), and competitive grants from foundations and federal agencies including the Henry Luce Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Academy of Korean Studies. Pricing is set centrally at the university level.

Distribution is anchored on the Houston campus (6100 Main Street), with experiential extensions through fellowships and internships at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Menil Collection, and Bayou Bend, plus Medical Humanities placements inside the Texas Medical Center. Rice in Country study-abroad programs span ten international locations. Distribution channels also include summer programs and continuing education. In 2025, the school rebranded from the School of Humanities to the School of Humanities and Arts, opened Sarofim Hall as the new home for the Department of Art, launched a new Media Studies program, and secured a national humanities grant placing humanities at the center of health AI research in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine.

Name

Rice University School of Humanities

Legal name

School of Humanities and Arts, Rice University

Website

https://humanities.rice.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The School of Humanities and Arts is an academic unit within Rice University that delivers undergraduate and graduate humanities and arts education through eight departments, seven interdisciplinary centers, and ten cross-departmental programs, serving undergraduate and graduate students in Houston.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (611610)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Humanities & Creative Research Universities (EDAHABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fine Arts Colleges (Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking) (EDAHAJAA), Arts-Integrated Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAO)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Humanities education
• Liberal arts programs
• Graduate programs
• Arts education

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tuition and fees: As a school within Rice University, revenue is primarily derived from tuition and fees paid by students to the university. The school does not separately disclose its revenue model.
2. Endowments and donations: The school receives endowed funds and donations from alumni and donors, including the T.T. and W.F. Chao Family Foundation, Susan and Fayez Sarofim, and others.
3. Grants and research funding: Faculty and the school receive grants from foundations and government agencies including the Henry Luce Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, Academy of Korean Studies, and Mellon Foundation.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The School of Humanities and Arts at Rice University delivers undergraduate majors and minors in humanities and arts disciplines, master's degrees (MFA in Creative Writing, MA in Religion), doctoral programs (Art History, English, History, Philosophy, Religion), graduate certificates, and study abroad programs across 10 languages. It operates through eight academic departments, multiple interdisciplinary centers (including the Chao Center for Asian Studies, Humanities Research Center, and Center for Environmental Studies), and over a dozen cross-disciplinary programs such as Medical Humanities, Media Studies, and Museums and Cultural Heritage.

Product overview

Rice University School of Humanities and Arts is an academic institution offering educational programs across nine departments (Art, Art History, English and Creative Writing, History, Modern and Classical Languages Literatures and Cultures, Philosophy, Religion, Transnational Asian Studies), multiple interdisciplinary centers (including African and African American Studies, Environmental Studies, Languages and Intercultural Communication, Latin American and Latinx Studies, Study of Women Gender and Sexuality, Chao Center for Asian Studies, Humanities Research Center), and various undergraduate and graduate programs. The school provides undergraduate majors/minors, doctoral programs (Art History, English, History, Philosophy, Religion), master's programs (Creative Writing MFA, Religion MA), and graduate certificates. This is an academic educational institution rather than a commercial product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Programs (BA degrees) Bachelor of Arts degree programs across eight academic departments (Art, Art History, English and Creative Writing, History, Modern and Classical Languages Literatures and Cultures, Philosophy, Religion, Transnational Asian Studies) plus interdisciplinary majors. Designed for undergraduate students seeking a humanities or arts degree at Rice University.
• MFA in Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts graduate degree program in Creative Writing within the Department of English and Creative Writing. Aimed at students pursuing advanced creative writing training.
• MA in Religion Master of Arts graduate degree program in the Department of Religion. Designed for students pursuing advanced study in religious thought.
• Doctoral Programs (PhD) PhD programs in Art History, English, History, Philosophy, and Religion. Aimed at students pursuing advanced research-oriented doctoral degrees.
• Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning Continuing education, professional development, and executive education offerings for alumni and community members seeking ongoing humanities learning.
• Rice in Country Study Abroad Programs Study abroad programs in Egypt, Taiwan, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Costa Rica, Spain, and Berlin. Designed for Rice undergraduates seeking immersive language and cultural study across 10 languages.
• Media Studies Program New interdisciplinary program blending critical thinking with creative practice across media. Aimed at undergraduate students seeking humanities-grounded media education.

Quantifiable outcome

• Niche ranking: Art #2, Religion #6, English #11, History #20, Philosophy #20

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWilliam A. Camfield Fellowship places students as interns at MFAH under guidance of professional curators. Jameson Fellowship places students at Bayou Bend Collection. Students work directly with museum on curatorial practice and collection management.
• Menil CollectionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn and Dominique de Menil Fellowship offers undergraduate art history students internship opportunities at the Menil Collection under guidance of the museum's curatorial departments.
• Texas Medical CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical Humanities program offers research opportunities in the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical complex. Students intern at organizations including Texas Children's Hospital, UT Health, and other TMC institutions.
• Houston-area non-profit organizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCenter for Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality connects students with Houston organizations for practicum experiences. Various programs place students with community organizations for research and service.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vanderbilt University College of Arts and Science: Vanderbilt's College of Arts and Science is a directly comparable humanities-and-arts unit at a top private research university with similar scale and a parallel department structure.
• Yale University Faculty of Arts and Sciences: Yale's FAS is the central humanities-and-arts academic home at a top private research university, with closely overlapping departments (art history, English, history, philosophy, religion, languages) and graduate program structure.
• Columbia University School of Arts and Sciences: Columbia's Arts and Sciences is the principal humanities-and-arts academic unit at a top private research university, with overlapping disciplinary departments and a comparable graduate program portfolio.
• Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences: Duke's Trinity College is the principal humanities-and-arts undergraduate and graduate home at a top private research university, with overlapping disciplinary departments and a comparable endowment-supported model.
• Brown University Humanities: Brown's humanities umbrella at a top private research university overlaps on departments (art, English, history, philosophy, religion, languages) and shares a liberal-arts-influenced educational philosophy.
• Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences: Stanford's equivalent school bundles humanities with social sciences at a top private research university; the naming parallel and shared private-research-university context make it the most directly comparable unit.
• MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS): MIT SHASS is a directly comparable school at a top STEM-anchored private research university; its explicit humanities-arts-social-sciences integration closely mirrors Rice's 2025 repositioning.
• Harvard University Division of Arts and Humanities: Harvard's Arts and Humanities division within FAS covers the same core humanities disciplines and is the primary direct competitor for top faculty and graduate students in the humanities.
• University of Chicago Division of the Humanities: UChicago's Division of the Humanities houses the same core humanities disciplines at a top private research university known for a strong humanities core curriculum, providing a direct peer for curriculum and faculty benchmarking.
• Princeton University School of Humanities: Princeton's School of Humanities is a near-namesake division at a peer private research university with directly overlapping departments (art, English, history, philosophy, religion, languages) and strong emphasis on small-class undergraduate teaching.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RiceUniversity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/RiceUniversity
• Facebookfacebook.com/RiceUniversity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/rice-humanities
• Instagraminstagram.com/riceuniversity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Rice University School of Humanities