The Rice Thresher student newspaper and the Campanile student yearbook have both placed first in the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association contest. In addition, the Campanile won the Sweepstakes Award for Yearbook Division 2. The award is based on how many points the publication accumulated during the contest.

The Rice Thresher received three first place awards in addition to overall excellence. Reed Thornburg placed first for news feature story for his story Consumed, and Ryan Gupta won first in sports story for Exodus. Gabe Caudra placed first in sports column for his weekly column The Fifth Lap. The paper also got three second place awards, four third place and five honorable mentions.

These awards are in addition to a third place finish in the Apple Awards presented by the College Media Association at the Spring National College Media Convention.

The Campanile won 25 awards, with 12 first place finishes. In addition to overall excellence, the yearbook received best cover design (designed by Beth Herlin and Shaan Patel), best photo story, best information graphic, best opening package, and best feature/student life package. Beth Herlin received first for a people spread with mugshots (the senior section). Elizabeth Pogue placed first in organizations copy for Occupy Weiss, and Shaan Patel received best title page. Collin Shurbet placed first in sports feature photo for his pole vault photo and Katherine McConachie got first for student life copy in her coverage of LGBT issues on campus. Taylor Daileda received first in sports feature photo for a picture of Rice students celebrating the football team.

The 2012 yearbook also received five second place awards, four third place and four honorable mentions. The book was also included in Balfour Publishing’s Yearbook Yearbook and received a honorable mention certificate from the publishing company. The Columbia Scholastic Press Association presented the Campanile with five awards in its Gold Circle Awards presented in March.