In effort to create additional dining accessibility, Graduate Student meal plans (GMP) have
been revised beginning Spring 2024 so that we can serve a larger and growing population
with access to the Undergraduate College Serveries. The lunch plan will be available
Monday – Sunday from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. for 600 students. The Munch plan will be
available Monday – Friday from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. for an additional 600 students at
select locations.
Details
1. Signing up for the Graduate Meal Plan
a. Graduate students can sign-up for the Graduate Meal Plan (GMP) by filling out the
following Add Meal Plan Form here.
b. The total number of open positions in the GMP during lunch, munch and dinner
is 1,200 for the fall and spring semesters. 150 students will be assigned to West
Servery, 150 to North Servery, 150 to Seibel Servery and 150 to South Servery
between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday – Sunday. 300 students will be assigned
to West Servery and 300 to South Servery between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. for
Munch. Monday – Friday. Dinner is included in all meal plans except for munch
only and can be used at West, North, Seibel, and South serveries and is available
from 5:30 p.m. – 8:00p.m. Monday – Friday.
c. If all 1,200 spots are filled, interested students can still sign-up and will be
waitlisted for the GMP. If during a semester a GMP spot opens, the students will
be notified.
d. Graduate students will have to sign-up for the GMP each semester. Thus, at the
end of the spring semester, you will need to sign-up again for the following fall
semester for example.
e. Sign-up for the fall semester begins Aug. 1 at 12:01am Texas Time; sign- up for
the spring semester begins Dec. 15 at 12:01am Texas Time. This is first come,
first serve.
2. Choice of Plans
a. Graduate students signing up for the Graduate Meal Plan can select either of the
following options:
i. 50 lunch, munch & dinner: Plan cost: $500/semester
ii. 85 lunch, munch & dinner: Plan cost: $850/semester
iii. 50 munch only: Plan cost: $450/semester
b. All unused meals will expire at the end of the semester. No refunds for
unused meals. Additional meals may be purchased during the semester if
your plan runs low.
c. Charges for the selected plan will be billed to the student’s ESTHER account as a
one-time charge. The student is allowed to opt out of the GMP during the fall
semester by August 31 and the spring semester by January 31. You may not opt
out after the specified dates. If you decide to opt out by the date indicated, the
student will be refunded the pro-rated amount based on the number of meals
that the student has used. However, a student who has opted out cannot rejoin
the GMP during the same semester even if spots are available.
3. Choice of Servery
a. Graduate students signing up for the Graduate Meal Plan can provide their
preference for the time slot they wish to utilize.
b. Servery allocation will be made on a first-come-first-serve basis. Thus,
whether you get allocated to your top preference will depend on whether all
spots at your preferred time/servery(s) are filled.
c. You can dine ONLY at your designated time and servery.
4. Rules and Regulations
a. Lunch and Munch Hours in the Serveries
i. You may dine between: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Monday – Sunday
Only or 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Monday – Friday Only depending on
which time slot you were assigned.
b. Use of Graduate Meal Plan
i. Once you sign-up for the Graduate Meal Plan (GMP), your Rice ID card
will be activated for the GMP within two business days by Rice
Housing and Dining. Access to the college servery will be through your
Rice ID card.
ii. You must carry your Rice ID card whenever you go to your designated
servery for a lunch. No exceptions will be made if you are not carrying
your Rice ID card.
iii. Sharing the Graduate Meal Plan with another graduate student is
prohibited unless accompanied by the owner of the plan. The owner of
the plan may only bring TWO guests during the designated mealtime.
iv. Plans are active on the first day of classes each semester and ends on
the last day of service during the semester.
c. Use of Undergraduate College Commons is not allowed.
i. Undergraduate ‘College Commons’ are the large spaces located adjacent
to the college serveries. These are used by the undergraduate college
students for programming exclusive to members of the colleges.
Members of the Graduate Meal Plan at West Servery may use the
brown colored tables in front of the servery. H&D has created an
exclusive graduate student space near South Servery. The “Grad Bubble”
that was formally known as PCF1. All Graduate students will have access
in the space. Students dining at North and Seibel have limited seating
options in front of Jones College commons and Lovett/Will Rice
commons respectively.