<p>Is anyone here currently attending, attended in the past, or just generally knowledgeable about Rice's college of social science? I'm interested in applying to it and majoring in some kind of social science at Rice, but I can't seem to find much info about it in particular.</p>
<p>What are its strengths/weaknesses? How is it as compared to the rest of Rice, and to other top tier universities? What are the classes taught there like?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>I'm planning on being a sociology major.
It's hard to know how it compares to other schools, since I've onl gone to Rice, but compared to other departments at Rice the School of Social Sciences can readily hold its own. According to admissions literature, the school of social science has the largest number of students, so it's certainly a popular option. Classes vary from professor to professor and course to course, but my experience with classes in sociology and psychology have been mostly positive. The professors (not just in social sciences, but across the university) are so fabulous, and really love interacting with their students - either through research, help with homework, or just over lunch. FYI, the sociology department has recieved the most teaching awards of any department at Rice.</p>
<p>I would venture that the only weaknesses are in repuation (mostly because of the lack of focus on graduate work - which is probably a positive if you are going there as an undergrad), and perhaps in breadth, since most of the departments are smaller than what you might find at other schools (since Rice is all around smaller). But I think they are reasonably broad - I've certainly found many profs interested in things I find fascinating.</p>
<p>Thanks jenskate. </p>
<p>On the topic of reputation, do you think going to Rice's social science school (err...what's the proper name for it?) would be detrimental to grad school admission? Especially for schools on either coast?</p>