About RESP
The Rice Emerging Scholars Program (RESP) is an innovative, residential academic program designed to help first-year students prepare for the challenging pace, depth, and rigor of the STEM curricula at Rice. Unique among programs of its kind at highly selective institutions, RESP’s approach to college transition and success is comprehensive, combining a rigorous six-week academic summer bridge program with personalized and holistic mentoring and support for the duration of the college experience.
RESP’s mission is to ensure that high-potential students from under-resourced high schools—particularly low-income and first-generation students—persist, thrive, and graduate at the same rate as their peers, and go on to achieve their academic and professional aspirations as scientists and engineers.
RESP is designed to ensure that students who would most benefit from the program are not excluded due to cost. Accordingly, RESP Scholars attend the summer program at no cost and receive a stipend for their participation. They also enjoy a personalized array of mentoring and support services throughout their time at Rice.
In fulfilling its charge to help these students meet all the challenges they face, RESP comprehensively addresses their particular academic and navigational needs together with other challenges unique to students from underserved communities. And RESP stands with them from before they matriculate until after they graduate -- this is what it means to provide an environment in which students may “thrive.”
Program History and Impact
Launched in 2012 with a cohort of 25 RESP Scholars, the program was co-founded by Senior Associate Provost Matt Taylor and Professor Mike Wolf, who is now the Chair of Mathematics at Georgia Tech. RESP provides personalized, long-term advising through a dedicated team of four professional assistant and associate directors. Since its inception, 503 students, referred to as RESP Scholars, have participated in the program across 14 cohorts.
Thanks to previous grants from the National Science Foundation and the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation, the program's annual cohort size has steadily increased, with an average of 40 new students from 2016-2023, growing to 50 in 2024. Notably, 50% of all RESP Scholars are first-generation college students, with 70% of the 2022 and 2023 cohorts identifying as first-generation. Nearly 70% of RESP Scholars come from lower-income and/or Pell-eligible families, and 60% are women.
RESP Scholars have achieved impressive success after completing the program, with many going on to earn graduate degrees in STEM disciplines from prestigious institutions such as UC Berkeley, MIT, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins, among others. Additionally, they have earned dental, law, and medical degrees and have received research fellowships with organizations like NIH, NSF, and NASA. RESP alumni are now employed at top-tier companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, SpaceX, and Goldman Sachs, demonstrating the program's long-lasting impact on their careers.
RESP has delivered measurable results, significantly reducing attrition among STEM majors. Scholars in the program have a retention rate that is double that of similarly prepared students who did not participate in RESP. Furthermore, RESP Scholars graduate at rates equal to or even surpassing those of other Rice students. For example, the 2015-2019 cohorts saw a graduation rate of 90% for RESP Scholars compared to 87% for all Rice students.
Get Connected
If you'd like to join and connect with our professional community of RESP Scholars and Alumni, please join us on LinkedIn.
Follow us on Instagram(@rice.resp) to see updates, programming, testimonials, and more!
Show your Support
Supporting the aspirations and persistence of students in STEM is essential for several key reasons:
- Rice University is committed to dismantling the widespread notion that students from underserved communities cannot excel in the most demanding technical majors. This effort goes beyond education; it’s about changing perceptions and creating meaningful opportunities.
- The United States is falling behind in educating the number of STEM graduates the nation needs. The only way to meet the need is to improve access for all students. RESP identifies high-achieving students from under-resourced schools and provides support and programming to ensure they will persist, thrive, and graduate at the same rate as their peers, and go on to achieve their academic and professional aspirations as scientists and engineers.
- Rice is uniquely positioned to develop a pipeline of high-achieving, well-rounded graduates prepared to excel in fields where they can serve as role models for younger generations. In this respect, the Rice Emerging Scholars Program (RESP) is not only important for our university but also for the future of our world.
We are profoundly grateful to our generous donors for their unwavering support of RESP: the National Science Foundation, ConocoPhillips, and the Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation. Together, we are fostering a brighter future in STEM for all.
