<p>I am not familiar with Rice, but I assure you that Lafayette College has and excellent engineering program, which includes ABET accredited majors in chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering. See this link:
[Engineering[/url</a>]</p>
<p>It also offers a great opportunity for undergraduate research. See this link:
[url=<a href=“http://www.lafayette.edu/academics/excel.html]Lafayette”>http://www.lafayette.edu/academics/excel.html]Lafayette</a> College - Excel Scholars](<a href=“http://www.lafayette.edu/webdata/engineering/]Engineering[/url”>Lafayette College)</p>
<p>I suspect that research opportunities at a university may be primarily offered to grad students, wheras at Lafayette the entire focus is on the undergraduate education.</p>