Two people were found shot dead in a dorm room at Rice University in Houston, the university president said on Monday, in what appeared to be a murder-suicide.

One was a female student who had lived in the dorm room in the Jones College residential hall, Reginald DesRoches, the university president, said at a news conference. The other was a man who was not a university student and who had a self-inflicted gunshot wound, he said.

The university identified the student as Andrea Rodriguez Avila, a junior.

She appeared to have been in a romantic relationship with the man, Clemente Rodriguez, the university police chief, said.

The two were discovered on Monday afternoon during a welfare check by the Rice University police, after a family member reported not being able to get in contact with Ms. Avila, Mr. Rodriguez said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. It appeared that Ms. Avila let the man into the residential building, he added.

The deaths occurred on the first day of classes. The university issued a shelter-in-place alert at about 5:40 p.m. urging all students to stay in their rooms as the police investigated.

The alert was lifted before 7 p.m. All classes and activities were canceled for the rest of Monday, the university said on social media.