Research
Centers, Institutes, & Programs

BRIDGE (Building Research on Inequality and Diversity to Grow Equity) brings together Rice University faculty and students to enrich understanding of inequality by leveraging our location in Houston, Texas, one of the nation’s most racially and ethnically diverse urban centers. We aim to enhance knowledge of inequality’s patterns, causes, consequences, promote dialogue and action about inequality’s impact; and invest in the training of future scholars of inequality.

The Center for African and African American Studies is Rice’s primary location for curriculum and research related to Africa and to people of African descent in the Americas and beyond. Offering a broad base for teaching and pedagogical resources as well as interdisciplinary scholarship and programming that brings Rice into national and international conversations, the center is a clearinghouse for critical conversation, instruction, cutting-edge research and community outreach in an interdisciplinary fashion.

The mission of the Center for Coastal Futures & Adaptive Resilience (CFAR) is to advance transformative, social scientific research that empowers coastal communities confronting the twin challenges of climate change and social inequality. Based in Rice’s School of Social Sciences, CFAR integrates the diverse methodological expertise of allied fields, faculty and partners to empower adaptive resilience that cannot be achieved through individual effort or technological innovation alone. Launched in 2024, we pursue this mission through research relevant to Houston, the Gulf region, and coastal areas worldwide. Current foci include: Coastal Industrial Communities; Urban Infrastructure Futures; Climate Adaptation; and, Disaster Recovery & Resilience.

The Center for Computational Insights on Inequality and Society at Rice (CIISR) is as an intellectual hub for computationally intensive social sciences research at Rice University. Computational social science fosters research innovation by combining computing power, large-scale data, and advanced methods together, which enables us to answer big questions, reveal new insights, and radically transform graduate training in the social sciences.

The Institute of Health Resilience and Innovation aims to advance research and interventions that enhance health and well-being across the lifespan, integrating insights from cells to society to develop practical, science-driven solutions. We bring together researchers, practitioners, and community partners to address the complex factors that shape health—from molecular mechanisms to social systems. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships, we aim to create innovative solutions that promote resilience and improve health outcomes for individuals and communities.

The mission of Rice Center for Voting is to support the conduct of free and fair elections through high-quality, non-partisan academic research in 4 major areas:

1. Understanding how voters and poll workers use electronic voting equipment—poll books to check voters in and ballot marking devices—and their impact on the polling place operations.
2. Designing ballots to reduce voter errors and the efficacy with which voters verify their ballot choices.
3. Determining the optimal number, location, staffing, and equipping of early, Election Day, and vote center polling locations.
4. Organizing polling place space and operations, including the spacing of voting equipment inside the location, as well as entry and exit to and from polling locations.

The Social Sciences Research Institute is a research funding entity for Rice social sciences faculty and graduate students. It provides seed funds and other awards to promote cutting-edge research in the social sciences. "Thinking New and Thinking Big" is the Institute's mission.