William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a private research university in Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres.

Rice University comprises eight undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, including School of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, George R. Brown School of Engineering, Wiess School of Natural Sciences, Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Rice School of Architecture, and Shepherd School of Music.

Established in 1912 as William M. Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art after the murder of its namesake William Marsh Rice, Rice has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1985 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Rice competes in 14 NCAA Division I varsity sports and is a part of the American Athletic Conference. Its teams are the Rice Owls.

Alumni include 26 Marshall Scholars, 13 Rhodes Scholars, 7 Churchill Scholars, and 3 Nobel laureates.