Being a civil and environmental undergraduate student at Rice University is much more than studying and attending class. There are many opportunities for development beyond the classroom, including involvement with honor societies, enriching and challenging internships, international study, undergraduate research and lunches with the Dean.
The list below includes clubs with CEE faculty advisers or student leadership. For a broader list of ways to get involved, visit Rice Engineering Student Clubs.
Clubs & Opportunities
Rice Center for Engineering Leadership
Interested in learning skills and gaining experience that will help you become a leader in your field? The Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL) exists to help our undergraduates do just this, and upon completion, you will have gained invaluable experiences, cultivated connections, and earned a certificate acknowledging your successful completion of the prestigious RCEL program.
Learn more about our RCEL program.
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) promotes civil engineering as a course of study and ultimately a profession to the students of Rice University. We sponsor a spring career fair, outreach and social events, and club meetings where students can learn about possible employers and relevant topics in engineering today. Additionally, we participate in national ASCE competitions like Concrete Canoe and the Mead Student Paper, as well as regional and national conferences.
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Graduate Student Association (GSA)
The guiding principles of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Graduate Student Association are:
- Foster better professional and personal relationships among students and between student and faculty members.
- Provide a forum for concerns, both professional and personal, about graduate student life.
- Foster professional growth through mentoring, recruitment, and affiliate/internship relationships.
Chi Epsilon
Chi Epsilon is the Civil Engineering Honor Society. It serves to recognize students of high scholarship, character, practicality, and sociability. Students are inducted into the society once or twice annually and are selected from the pool of upper division level civil engineering students. (Rice chapter: 1995). Chi Epsilon is dedicated to maintaining and promoting the status of civil engineering as an ideal profession. Chi Epsilon was formed to recognize the characteristics of the individual civil engineer deemed to be fundamental to the successful pursuit of an engineering career, and to aid in the development of those characteristics in the civil engineering student.
Faculty Advisor: Daniel Cohan
Concrete Canoe
Rice Concrete Canoe is a student-run club that creates a functional concrete canoe to race and present at the yearly ASCE sponsored competition. Members gain engineering experience through the research, planning and constructing of a concrete canoe during the course of the academic year. By offering members exposure to the engineering design process, small-group work, software such as Matlab and Adobe Illustrator, and laser cutters, Concrete Canoe offers a unique experience to students regardless of whether or not they want to become engineers.
Engineers Without Borders
The Rice University Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a student-run organization dedicated to collaboration with communities in the developing world. They aim to provide sustainable and culturally appropriate engineering solutions that improve quality of life without harming society or the environment while forming strong intercultural relationships and understanding.
Rice Environmental Club
The Rice Environmental Club (Envi Club) seeks to establish Rice as an environmentally progressive university by promoting environmental education and activism as well as emphasizing environmental justice and social sustainability. Envi Club has an established presence on both Rice’s campus as well as in the greater Houston community and is responsible for a number of sustainability initiatives, ranging from awareness campaigns to environmental film screenings.
Society of Women Engineers
The Society of Women Engineers aims to empower women to pursue and achieve their full potential in science and engineering-related fields. We provide opportunities in professional development, academic and post-graduate planning, community outreach, and social events.
Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
Tau Beta Pi is the oldest engineering honor society in the United States that recognizes students who have shown a history of academic achievement as well as a commitment to personal and professional integrity.