The interview process was very exciting and very enticing. I was extremely pumped up about going to Rice and being a successful PhD student. Unfortunately, there is a bait and switch mentality where they do a lot of work to recruit good students, but in reality, the program is very different from what they say during recruitment. The Sociology program is a mess. If you are a decent student and you have other options for graduate education--take one of those instead. The program is entirely mismanaged, professors frequently leave the country for 6-12 months at a time, and the opportunities to be successful are very different from what they advertise during the February recruitment period. If you are a local Houstonian, and you feel like you can spend about 8+ years dealing with a problematic program, then this place is for you. They mention on their website that it is a five year degree program, but this is entirely inaccurate. They won't let you follow their advertised program of study. RUN.