Rice University Precollege Law: Shaping a Just and Equitable World

The whole course is asynchronous, so there are no Zoom calls or set log-in times. You work through it on Canvas, the course platform, whenever suits you between your session's start and end dates. Lessons are pre-recorded video lectures mixed with multimedia, simulations and an assignment at the end of each unit.

Nothing is due until the end. Every assignment and the capstone just have to be in by your session's end date, which is freeing but leaves the pacing up to you. Your mentor answers questions through the Canvas inbox and discussion boards and reviews your assignments, which are marked Complete or Incomplete instead of getting letter grades. Rice says mentors are most active during US daytime hours, which is worth knowing if you live in a very different time zone.

After your session ends, you can still view the course materials for a month.

Rice credits the course design to Dr. Richard Anthony Baker, who runs three Human Resources units at Rice University, including Access Equity and Equal Opportunity. He also teaches "Foresight in Social Justice" in Rice's Master of Liberal Studies program. He holds a law doctorate along with graduate degrees in public administration and higher education from Texas Tech University, so his background is in equal opportunity and civil rights work inside a university, which matches the course's focus.

Day to day, your contact is a mentor. Rice names three for this course: Luisa, a Rice undergraduate studying political science, Makiah, an education attorney with a law degree (JD), and Dylan, a Rice graduate in political science. Rice doesn't say how mentors are assigned or how many students each one supports.

You leave with a Certificate of Completion from Rice University. Rice emails it once at least 70% of your assignments and your capstone project have been marked satisfactory by your session's end date. If you fall short of that, you get no certificate and no refund.

The capstone may be the more useful thing to keep. Acting as a member of a legal task force, you build a proposal that uses legal solutions to tackle access to education, labor rights and property ownership together. Rice says you can include it in later college or internship applications.

The certificate isn't credit. The course comes with no grades, college credit or transcript, and Rice says taking it gives you no preferential treatment in Rice admissions. Rice suggests listing it on applications as an extracurricular or experiential activity, not under education.

The course costs $1,795, and Rice says there are no additional fees. You'll need your own computer or other device and a reliable internet connection, since those aren't included.

Need-based scholarships are available for students who show high potential but can't pay the full tuition. Rice doesn't publish how much it awards. If you want two Rice precollege courses, taking them together as the Rice Advantage Bundle costs $3,000 for both, but that price can't be combined with a scholarship.

Cancel at least seven calendar days before your start date and you get all your tuition back. From six days out, nothing is refunded and there are no partial refunds, although Rice may let you switch to another course or session if there's space and you pay any difference.

You can apply if you're at least 13 and in high school (or the equivalent outside the US), or within a year of graduating and taking a gap year. Rice says the course isn't meant for college students or adults. International students are welcome as long as they can apply and study in English, and no English test is required.

The application asks for no transcripts or recommendation letters. Besides contact details for you and a parent or guardian, it asks why you want to take this course, and you can answer in writing, on video, with photos or in any other medium. Rice calls this personal statement the most important part of the application, and it must be in English. Rice publishes no acceptance rate or class size, but it says applying to several courses won't hurt your chances. The course is built around property, workers' rights and educational rights, so a statement that names which of those issues matters to you, and why, gives Rice something concrete to read.

Applications go through Rice's precollege application page.

1. 1

   Pick a session

   The 2-week session runs from 20 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 with a 13 December 2026 deadline, the 4-week session from 3 to 31 January 2027 has a 27 December 2026 deadline, and the 4-week session from 17 January to 14 February 2027 has a 10 January 2027 deadline.

2. 2

   Fill in the form

   It takes about 20 to 30 minutes, and you can save your progress and come back if you don't finish in one go.

3. 3

   Ask for aid if you need it

   Click "Apply for a need-based scholarship" on the confirmation page right after you submit.

4. 4

   Wait for a decision

   Rice emails a decision within a week, sometimes a few days longer at busy times, so for the December session it makes sense to apply well before 13 December 2026.

5. 5

   Pay to confirm your place

   Tuition is due the day before your start date, but your place isn't confirmed until you pay, so Rice recommends paying as soon as you're accepted.

6. 6

   Log in to Canvas

   Your course invitation arrives at least two days before your session starts.