First Year
In the First-year Writing Seminars, Rice students start developing the skills they need to communicate effectively throughout their time at the university. In addition, students can attend workshops through the Center for Academic and Professional Communication or make an appointment for one-on-one consultations to review an assignment.
Undergrad
Check out our workshops on topics like procrastination, oral presentations, and slide design, as well as our COMM 300 and COMM 415 course! We also maintain a list of online resources to assist undergraduate students in completing essays, presentations, and posters, and students can book one-on-one consultations to discuss an assignment.
Graduate Students
The PWC provides graduate students with workshops tailored to their academic goals and a curated list of online communication resources. Graduate students can also schedule one-on-one consultations in the Center for Academic and Professional Communication to help them succeed in written, oral, and visual assignments.
International Students
We provide resources to assist students whose first language is not English with communication assignments and courses. Students can make appointments for one-on-one consultations in the Center for Academic and Professional Communication or attend communication workshops and credit-bearing courses.
Faculty
We partner with instructors and departments to create communication instruction for their students, from classroom presentations to individual and group coaching. We also assist faculty in creating rigorous communication assignments and assessment tools tailored to their discipline.
Upcoming Workshops & Events
Communication in the Age of Covid-19: The Email Edition - March 9
Emails have become more important than ever this past year. This workshop is specially designed for undergraduate students and will address a range of topics relating to communicating over email, including etiquette, tone, length, and content. We will discuss seemingly trivial but often sticky questions like how to address the person you are writing to, as well as more fraught questions like when to email a professor, how to bring up a problem you are facing in class, and how to ask for an extension. Students are also welcome to bring up difficult emails they have written/are writing and/or questions they have faced when drafting an email, and we will discuss them.
Sweating the Small Stuff* An Academic Communication Workshop for International Graduate Students - March 10
This workshop focuses on the norms of informal communication that many graduate students encounter in the American University. You’ll learn practical strategies for common situations like requesting appointments and feedback, addressing concerns among coworkers, participating in seminar discussions, handling questions at conferences and lectures, and more. At the intersection of culture and language, we’ll discuss how American notions of time and direct discourse affect your communication with supervisors and advisers, and how the place of argument in the American academy influences your classmate’s approach to seminar discussion. We'll leave time to address particular questions and discuss situations from your own experience. Participants will leave armed with new insights, specific strategies, and a lot of vocabulary lists! *don’t sweat the ˈsmall stuff - (American English, spoken) used to tell somebody not to worry about small details or unimportant things. (don't sweat the small stuff, Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary, 2017)
Managing Writer’s Block - March
This workshop aims to undo the myth of “writer’s block.” We will start with a discussion of why that blinking cursor or that blank page can be the biggest obstacle to our progress. Then, through a series of activities, we will develop some strategies for overcoming “writer’s block” that can help students produce their best work without the constant stress of looming deadlines. Date & Time: Monday, March 15: 4:30-6 pm
Center for Academic & Professional Communication 
The CAPC is the home for student and faculty communication support at Rice.
First-Year Writing Intensive Seminar 
FWIS courses will give you the communication foundation you need for success at Rice and beyond.
English as a Second Language 
The PWC provides a host of services for Rice students whose first language isn't English.
Communication in the Disciplines 
The PWC helps students learn to communicate in ways appropriate for their majors and intended careers.