Wiess School-Professional Science Master's Programs - Rice University - Overview
Rice University Professional Science Master's Program Overview
As the national economy becomes increasingly dependent upon technology, there is an increasing need for people in industry and government to possess scientific expertise as well as leadership and management skills.
The professional science master's (PSM) program in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences at Rice University is a 2-year degree program that prepares students for work outside academia. Instead of specializing in a research area, students will learn what it takes to become a well-rounded, technically adept professional -- just the sort of person that employers are looking for these days!
Rice developed 4 degrees in cooperation with a Board of Affiliates composed of representatives from business, government and industry. The Board of Affiliates continues to advise and assist with curriculum, recruitment, internships, and job placement of the 4 tracks: bioscience research and health policy, environmental analysis and decision making, nanoscale physics, and subsurface geosciences.
All 4 degrees are offered through a 21-month program that requires both coursework and hands-on training -- typically in the form of an internship. The students take advanced science courses alongside doctoral students, but no dissertation is required. Instead, PSM students take required courses in management and team training, and policy and ethics. They also take a seminar series featuring both outside speakers, faculty, and student speakers.
Subsurface Geoscience Track
The subsurface geoscience program at Rice University is geared for students who would like to become proficient in applying geological knowledge and geophysical methods to find and develop reserves of oil and natural gas. The core requirements for the degree are strong courses in geophysical exploration methods, management and policy courses, communication skills, and an industrial internship.
Students select a group of elective courses from a focus area, or from a variety of other courses related to their interest. The geology focus area prepares students to be "explorationists," with strong skills in using seismic and other geophysical methods along with geological principles to find oil and natural gas. The geophysics focus area prepares students to become technical experts in aspects of exploration seismology.
Nanoscale Physics Track
The nanoscale physics program prepares students for a career in nanoscience by combining a strong component in quantum theory, which governs the behavior of systems at the nanoscale, with the study of practical nano- and mesoscale devices. This provides the student with the knowledge required to successfully navigate the emerging field of nanoscale science and nanotechnology. In addition, a year-long course in methods of experimental physics is offered to ensure that students obtain the advanced practical skills valuable to the nanotechnology industry.
Rice University is a well-established center for nanotechnology, with researchers active in several departments outside the physics core. The Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology includes among its faculty Nobel Laureate R. Curl, as well as esteemed faculty from the physics and astronomy, chemistry, electrical and computer engineering, civil and environmental engineering, chemical engineering, bioengineering, computational and applied math, and mechanical engineering and materials science departments. It focuses on interdisciplinary studies in many areas of nanoscale science including carbon nanotubes, nanoshells, and nanobiology.
The Center for Biological and Environmental Nanoscience (CBEN) at Rice fosters the development of this field through an integrated set of programs that aim to address the scientific, technological, environmental, human resource, commercialization, and societal barriers that hinder the transition from nanoscience to nanotechnology. The center's research focuses on investigating and developing nanoscience at the "wet/dry" interface.
Environmental Analysis and Decision Making Track
The environmental analysis and decision making track of the professional science master's program at Rice is geared to teach students rigorous methods that are needed by industrial and governmental organizations to deal with environmental issues. It is a cross-disciplinary effort incorporating courses from environmental science, earth science, statistics, chemistry, ecology and evolutionary biology, mechanical engineering, applied mathematics, chemical engineering, economics, computer science, and management.
Graduates will be prepared with skills and knowledge valuable to environmental consulting firms, energy production companies, and government agencies. In addition to track courses, the students will take management courses, a science and technology policy course, and a seminar jointly with the students involved in the other professional science master's program tracks.
This interdisciplinary degree from Rice University will teach quantitative skills such as statistics, remote sensing, data analysis, and modeling, laboratory, and computer skills, and give students the ability to anticipate problems, not just solve them.
Students are free to choose from focus areas such as sustainable development, management and policy, and quantitative decision making.
Biosicence Research and Health Policy
The Bioscience Research and Health Policy track will give students a deep background in biological sciences complemented by courses in sociology, economics and policy studies to foster their understanding of the role of science in policymaking and the role of public policy in science. In addition to science courses, students will take an overview course in Science Policy and Ethics, a management course and a seminar jointly with the students involved in the other tracks. Furthermore direct access to the Baker Institute will allow students to work closely with policy scholars as well as meet with many of the leaders in science and technology policy.
This program focuses on training bioscience and health policy analysts, providing them with the tools to face the complex challenges inherent in the bioscience research, public health, and the U.S. healthcare systems and health-related industries.
Faculty, Research and Other Opportunities
In addition to the curriculum, Rice offers several opportunities for students to expand their experience and knowledge through activities and events, including access to select MBA elective courses offered through the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, exposure to entrepreneurial development and the business investment communities via the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, writing and presentation coaching by Rice PSM communication faculty, discussions with members of Rice's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, and involvement in projects coordinated by the Shell Center for Sustainability.
Rice is noted for its pioneer applied science programs in the fields of nanotechnology, artificial heart research, structural chemical analysis, and space science. Students can participate in academic internships, when available. Students also can collaborate with faculty and work on an independent research project, if so desired.
An oversight committee of faculty involved with the four professional science master's tracks consists of faculty from statistics, civil and environmental engineering, earth science, ecology and evolutionary biology, physics, biochemistry and cell biology.
Weekly master seminars bring speakers from a variety of corporations, non-profit and governmental organizations, and academic institutions to campus to participate in round table talks or presentations with students of the professional science master's program.
The PSM program at Rice has a 99% placement rate for students ' internships and jobs after graduation.
Rice University Campus
Rice's campus is a heavily-wooded 285-acre tract of land located close to the city of West University Place, in the museum district of Houston, right across from the Texas Medical Center. Rice prides itself on the amount of green space available on campus; there are only about 50 buildings spread between the main entrance at its easternmost corner, and the parking lots and Rice Stadium at the West end. The Lynn R. Lowrey Arboretum, consisting of more than 4,000 trees and shrubs (giving birth to the legend that Rice has a tree for every student), is spread throughout the campus.
The university's first president, Edgar Odell Lovett, intended for the campus to have a uniform architecture style to improve its aesthetic appeal. To that end, nearly every building on campus is noticeably Byzantine in style, with sand and pink-colored bricks, large archways, and columns being a common theme among many campus buildings. Noteworthy exceptions include the glass-walled Brochstein Pavilion, Lovett College with its Brutalist-style concrete gratings, and the eclectic-Mediterranean Duncan Hall.