In an effort to create more dining accessibility, Graduate Student meal plans (GMP) have been revised beginning Fall 2023 so that we can serve a larger and growing population with access to the Serveries. The lunch plan will be available Monday – Friday from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. for 300 students and 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 Graduate Meal Plan is 900 for the fall and spring semester. 150 students will be assigned to West Servery and 150 to South Servery between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. 300 students will be assigned to West Servery and 300 to South Servery between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. If all 900 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.
c. Graduate students will have to sign-up for the Graduate Meal Plan each semester. Thus, at the end of the spring semester, you will need to sign-up again for the following fall semester for example.
d. 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. 85 lunches/semester: This is equivalent five meals/week.
Plan cost: $850/semester
ii. 50 lunches/semester: This is equivalent three meals/week.
Plan cost: $500/semester

b. All unused meals will expire at the end of the semester. No Refunds for Unused Meals.

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. Graduate students signing up for the Graduate Meal Plan can provide their preference for the servery they wish to utilize.
c. There are TWO undergraduate serveries participating in the Graduate Meal Plan – South and West. Each servery has a limit on the number of graduate students that it can accommodate as a part of the Graduate Meal Plan.
d. The West servery is located closer to the Engineering and Natural Sciences buildings while the South servery is located closer to the Bioscience Research Collaborative (BRC), Social Sciences, Humanities and Jones School of Business buildings.
e. 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.
f. You can dine ONLY at your designated time and servery.

4. Rules and Regulations

a. Lunch Hours in the Serveries
i. You may dine between: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Monday – Friday 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 meal time.
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.