Civil Engineering at Rice University

Rice's civil engineering program shows a puzzling gap when compared to Texas heavyweights. While peer programs at UT Austin and Texas A&M produce first-year earnings near $75,000, similar programs in Texas suggest Rice graduates start around $68,000—roughly $7,000 behind despite Rice's 8% admission rate and sky-high SAT scores. By year four, earnings reach $80,000, but that's still trailing what top Texas programs deliver right out of the gate. With estimated debt of $27,000 (higher than Texas's typical $20,500 for this major), the financial advantage you'd expect from an elite institution isn't materializing in these numbers.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.40 is manageable, and civil engineering remains a fundamentally solid career path. But when University of Houston—with its much broader admission profile—produces comparable or better starting salaries, something's off. Either Rice's small engineering cohort is skewing these estimates significantly, or graduates are pursuing graduate degrees, public sector work, or other paths that temporarily suppress earnings. Given that only 16% of Rice students receive Pell grants, most families here aren't chasing maximum ROI anyway.

For a program this selective, you'd reasonably expect outcomes closer to Texas A&M's level. The data we have doesn't support paying a premium unless your child values Rice's research opportunities, small classes, or Houston connections enough to offset $7,000 in foregone annual earnings early on.