Distribution Credit

The distribution system was designed so that every Rice student would receive a broad, well-rounded education along with training in an academic specialty. Distribution courses are broad-based, accessible to nonmajors, and representative of the knowledge, intellectual skills, and habits of thought that are most characteristic of a discipline.

Each student is required to take at least 3 courses of designated distribution courses of at least 3 credit hours each in each of distribution groups I, II and III. The 3 courses in each group must include courses in at least two departments in that group. (Divisional or interdisciplinary designates, e.g. HUMA or NSCI, count as departments for this purpose).

For a list of all courses designated as distribution courses, see the Master Lists of Distribution Credit Courses. For more information on Distribution Requirements, see the General Announcements.

Distribution Groups

Group Description
Group I These courses have one or more of the following goals: they develop students' critical and aesthetic understanding of texts and the arts; they lead students to the analytical examination of ideas and values; they introduce students to the variety of approaches and methods with which different disciplines approach intellectual problems; and they engage students with words of culture that have intellectual importance by virtue of the ideas they express, their historical influence, their mode of expression, or their critical engagement with established cultural assumptions and traditions.
Group II Three types of courses fulfill this requirement. The first are introductory courses which address the problems, methodologies, and substance of different disciplines in the social sciences. The second are departmental courses that draw upon at least two or more disciplines in the social sciences or that cover topics of central importance to a social science discipline. The third are interdisciplinary courses team-taught by faculty from two or more disciplines.
Group III These courses provide explicit exposure to the scientific method or to theorem development, develop analytical thinking skills and emphasize quantitative analysis, and expose students to subject matter in the various disciplines of science and engineering.