Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (EEPS)
PhD in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Full tuition fellowship + 12-month living stipend (~$36,000–$40,000/yr) + comprehensive health insurance guaranteed for 5 years through Rice Graduate Fellowships.
Fall Priority Deadline: January 1
GRE Policy: Not required / Waived
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 90 minimum or IELTS 7.0 minimum
MS in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences (En route)
N/A
Funding Reality: Admissions are directly to the fully-funded PhD program.
Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Sylvia Dee
Associate Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
She uses supercomputer weather models to understand why monster hurricanes stall over coastal cities and dump unprecedented 50-inch floods.
Core Research Topics: Hydroclimatology, climate modeling, water isotopes, extreme hydrological events, coastal hurricane flooding and drought.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Leads Climate and Water Lab at Rice. Combines global climate models with isotope-enabled hydrologic schemes to model catastrophic hurricanes and extreme flooding hitting the Texas Gulf Coast (e.g., Hurricane Harvey mechanisms).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Isotope-enabled climate models (CESM, iCAM5), statistical hydroclimatology, spatial GIS extreme weather mapping, Python.
Recruiting Context: Well-funded group located in Houston, the epicenter of modern coastal hurricane flood research.
Candidate Match:
HydrologyFlood ModelingClimate HazardsGISPython
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing hydroclimatic extreme modeling and hurricane flood simulation, presenting your GIS and spatial hydrological analysis background."
Departmental Unit № 2
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (5 Years)
Funding Package: Tuition waiver + 12-month stipend (~$36,000/yr) + health insurance.
Fall Priority Deadline: January 1
GRE Policy: Not required
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 90 or IELTS 7.0
MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Mostly Self-Funded (Target PhD)
Funding Reality: Target PhD for full fellowship and stipend funding.
Application Deadline: January 1
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Pedro J. J. Alvarez
George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He directs a major NSF water center, inventing solar-powered nanotechnology filters that purify toxic industrial water and kill deadly antibiotic-resistant superbugs in wastewater.
Core Research Topics: Environmental nanotechnology, water treatment, bioremediation, antibiotic resistance in water, emerging chemical pollutants, wet-lab water analysis.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Director of the NEWT (Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment) NSF Engineering Research Center. World-leading environmental engineer developing solar-powered nano-membrane systems to treat highly polluted industrial wastewater and eliminate antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Nanomaterial synthesis, analytical water quality testing (HPLC, mass spectrometry), bioreactor testing, microbial DNA analysis.
Recruiting Context: Director of a major multi-million dollar NSF Engineering Research Center. Tremendous funding and resources for graduate students.
Candidate Match:
Environmental PollutionWater QualityLab Water TestingEnvironmental Science
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Highlighting your wet-lab water testing background and interest in advanced nanotechnology-enabled water treatment at the NSF NEWT Center."