Campus COVID-19 Policies

Current Rice University COVID policies:

Vaccination Policy

Rice defines fully vaccinated as having received the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna regime plus a booster shot or the one-shot J&J vaccine plus a booster.

Students: ALL new undergraduate students and graduate students, including business school students, are required to submit a properly completed Health Data Form (HDF) to Student Health. More information is available on this page, including links to the Health Data Form and specific requirements for enrollment: https://health.rice.edu/new-students/health-data-form

Faculty and Staff: Vaccine boosters are required for all employees if it has been at least six months since you finished your two-shot Pfizer or Moderna regime. If you had the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine, you are not required to wait six months, and you should get boosted with a second dose of the vaccine as soon as possible. This requirement applies to all employees and students who come to campus unless they are granted a medical or religious exemption. As a reminder, the booster shot takes two weeks to be fully effective, and you must update your vaccination status with your booster information.

To provide proof of vaccination:

  • Undergraduate and Graduate students, go to this page with links to the Health Data Form and specific requirements for enrollment: HEALTH DATA FORM

For Rice Employees (faculty and staff) - the following groups can help you answer questions about vaccination requirements:

  • General questions about the vaccination policy for employees should be addressed to Human Resources at people@rice.edu
  • Religious accommodation requests or questions should be sent to the Office of Access, Equity, and Equal Opportunity at aeeo@rice.edu
  • Medical exemption requests or questions should go to the Disability Resource Center at adarice@rice.edu

Face Mask Policy

We encourage – but do not require – everyone to carry masks at all times on campus and use their best judgment on when it’s appropriate to wear a mask. For people who have special health concerns or want a higher level of protection, a well-fitted KN95 mask offers good protection for the user and is significantly better than cloth and disposable surgical masks. We have a good supply of masks which you can order here.

The university will no longer require unvaccinated people to wear masks at all times and undergo regular surveillance testing. We are strongly encouraging everyone to carry masks at all times on campus and use their best judgment on when it’s appropriate to wear one. Please take responsibility for protecting others. If a fellow student or a co-worker asks you to wear a mask, please consider doing so.

Face Masks in Classrooms
The university’s policy strongly encourages everyone to carry masks on campus and to use their best judgment on when it’s appropriate to wear one. While there is not a universal masking requirement, faculty have the option of requiring students to wear masks in their classrooms and research spaces. Faculty who will be requiring masking in the classroom should set these expectations clearly on the first day of class and are encouraged to include this in their syllabi. Students are expected to respect and honor these classroom guidelines as they would all other requirements for a specific course.