The Center for Transforming Data to Knowledge - the D2K Lab, is an Innovative and Interdisciplinary hub for data science education at Rice University.
We train exceptional Rice students to make an impact by solving your real-world data science and artificial intelligence problems.
Partner with the D2K Lab
Choose your partnership level based on how you want to engage with a thriving data science community.

For Industry Partnerships
D2K Lab industry partners have exclusive branding and recruitment access to Rice data science and AI students from over 16 majors across Rice University.
Recruitment Level - $10,000
A partnership level for companies and organizations looking to hire exceptional Rice data science and AI students. Make impactful connections and brand your organization*.
- Recruiting pitch at the annual Data Science Career Mixer ($1,000 value; over 200 job and internship seekers attend).
- Sponsorship of HackRice and the Rice Datathon included ($2,000 value; over 400 students attend each event).
- Branding on the D2K website, in monthly newsletters, and at all events and programs.
- Promoted job and internship announcements in the Rice Data Owls Weekly Digest (reaches over 1,500 Rice students).
Capstone Level - $25,000
A partnership level for companies and organizations looking for data science and artificial intelligence solutions to your research challenges in addition to student recruitment*.
- Recruitment Level benefits included ($10,000 value).
- Sponsorship of a D2K Capstone project included (1 semester-long project, $20,000 value).
Learn more about our Data Science Capstone.
View highlights of our D2K Capstone projects and their impact.
Partner Level - $50,000
D2K Partnership** combines the best of both recruitment, research, and enriched engagement and impact with Rice data science and AI students.
- Recruitment Level benefits included ($10,000 value).
- Sponsorship of two D2K Capstone projects included (1 year-long or 2 semester-long projects, $30,000 value).
- Premier sponsorship of HackRice and the Rice Datathon included ($7,500 value; over 400 students attend each event)
- Invitation to be a speaker at the D2K Industry Insights Seminar Series.
- High-visibility branding at a major D2K or Rice data science event.
Email the D2K Lab about how you want to become involved!
*Discounts are available for start-up companies. Talk to us to learn more.
**Talk to us to learn more about tailored Premier Partnership opportunities.
For Community Partnerships
View a list of highlighted community and social impact projects >
Email d2k@rice.edu to learn more about the discounted partnerships, if you are a government agency, community or non-profit organization.
For Research Partnerships
Visit a list of highlighted research projects.
If you are a Rice faculty and researcher, please visit this page for more information about research partnerships.
Highlighted Data Science Programs and Events
D2K Capstone
Data Science & Artificial Intelligence Capstone Projects
The D2K Lab provides advanced students from across many programs and departments at Rice University with unique and challenging opportunities to make an impact by solving real-world data science and artificial intelligence problems.
Companies and organizations seeking research solutions to their data science and artificial intelligence challenges can partner with the D2K Lab to sponsor a capstone team. (200+ students will participate in the D2K Capstone in 2023 (projected)).
◾ With a sponsored research agreement ($20,000 value), sponsors will own any resulting Intellectual Property (IP), including data and software solutions produced by the team.
◾ D2K Capstone projects for the social good utilize data science and artificial intelligence to solve pressing societal problems in collaboration with community organizations.
◾ Students present their results and highlight their impact at the D2K Showcase.
Rice Data Science Degrees
The undergraduate data science minor is designed to prepare students to use computational thinking and data science tools to solve practical problems in their areas of expertise. (75 data science minors per year in 2023 (projected).)
Professional Master of Data Science
The Master of Data Science program is a non-thesis degree designed to support the needs of interdisciplinary professionals with online or on-campus options. (100 MDS students per year in 2023 (projected).).
Get Involved With D2K Programs and Events
- Rice Datathon - Fast-paced, 24-hour data mining competition for experienced and novice data scientice & AI students in the Houston area.
- Rice Data Science Career Mixer - Companies connect and network with Rice data science, AI and computational students.
- D2K Showcase - See the impact our students are making with data science and AI.
- D2K Industry Insights Seminar Series - Industry data scientists, AI and computational researchers share insights from their work and connect with Rice faculty and students.
- HackRice - Rice's hackathon is a 36-hour student competition stretching computational skills and imagination.
Interested in becoming a D2K Partner, sponsoring a capstone project, or getting involved with Rice data science events? Fill out the form and select your membership level, or email d2k@rice.edu with any questions you may have.