vice presidents, and other university officials report to the president. The president is advised by a University Council composed of the provost, eight members of the Faculty Council, two staff members, one graduate student, and two undergraduate students. The president presides over a Faculty Council which has the authority to alter curricular requirements, establish new degree programs, and approve candidates for degrees. The university's academics are organized into several schools. Schools that have undergraduate and graduate programs include: The Rice University School of Architecture The George R. Brown School of Engineering The School of Humanities The Shepherd School of Music The Wiess School of Natural Sciences The Rice University School of Social Sciences Two schools have only graduate programs: The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies Rice's undergraduate students are admitted from a centralized admissions process, which admits new students to the university as a whole, rather than a specific school (the schools of Music and Architecture are decentralized). Students are encouraged to select the major path that best suits their desires; a student can later decide that they would rather pursue study in another field, or continue their current coursework and add a second or third major. These transitions are designed to be simple, with students not required to decide on a specific major until their sophomore year of study. Rice offers 360 degrees in over 60 departments. There are 40 undergraduate degree programs, 51 masters programs, and 29 doctoral programs. Faculty members of each of the departments elect chairs to represent the department to each School's dean and the deans report to the Provost who serves as the chief officer for academic affairs. Rice Management Company The Rice Management Company manages the $8.1 billion Rice University endowment (June 2021) and $1.1 billion debt. The endowment provides 40% of Rice's operating revenues. In August 2021, an economic development agreement that would provide Rice Management Company with up to $65 million in cost reimbursement from local taxes was given initial approval by the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. The agreement does not require a Community Benefits Agreement in exchange for funding. Final approval requires a vote by the Houston City Council. Academics Rice is a medium-sized, highly residential research university. The majority of enrollments are in the full-time, four-year undergraduate program emphasizing arts & sciences and professions. There is a very