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Advance Your Career with an Online MBA from Rice Business
Rice Business is a small school with big ideas. Our STEM-designated online MBA program brings our powerful community and modern business education to professionals across the United States and around the world.
Intentionally Small. Verifiably Great.
Our rankings showcase what we do best: empower aspiring leaders with advanced business competencies and personal support to pursue bold ideas and solve today’s biggest challenges — no matter where they’re living and working.
Online MBA Program at a Glance
54
Credits
24 Months
to Complete
AACSB-Accredited
Business School
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Why Earn a Rice MBA Online?
An increasingly complex world calls for a learning experience that works for everyone — from busy professionals to multitasking parents to military members — while still serving up a top-notch Rice education.
With Rice, business is personal. Designed using extensive research on how online MBA students learn best, our purpose-built digital campus creates a collaborative space to advance your education and connect with accomplished business leaders from around the world.
Your Voice, Amplified:
Live Virtual Classes
Meet with faculty members and peers each week for live, face-to-face class sessions over Zoom. Our small class sizes allow for rich discussion and debate, encouraging you to step up and take a leadership role.
Your Lifestyle, Valued:
Mobile-Friendly Coursework
Engage with real-world case studies, recorded faculty lectures, and collaborative projects each week — from anywhere, using any connected device.
Your Horizons, Broadened:
Field Experiences
Connect with peers, faculty and mentors in person during MBA@Rice Residentials on campus and Global Field Experiences in locations around the world. You’ll strengthen your professional network, gain hands-on experience, and collaborate with peers.
No Pausing Your Career:
Continue Growing Personally and Professionally
Pursue your degree online, all without interrupting your professional career.
The Rice Business Alumni Community
A Diverse, Global Group of Professionals
10,000+
RICE BUSINESS ALUMNI
13
REGIONAL CHAPTERS
55
COUNTRIES REPRESENTED
At Rice Business, we are proud of our alumni and their accomplishments across every major industry. As an online MBA student, you will have access to our global alumni community, who regularly connect with current students looking for advice, mentorship or professional opportunities.
As a Rice Business graduate, you’ll join a network of 10,000+ alumni while also becoming part of Rice University’s 80,000+ alumni community around the world.
Alumni Spotlight
Meet some of our alumni and discover how MBA@Rice helped them accomplish their career goals.
Chaundra Frank
Chaundra Frank refers to herself as “Rice Twice.” She earned her B.A. in economics and managerial studies from Rice University in 2000 and returned two decades later for her MBA.
“My motto is, ‘Second me will be the better me,’” Frank said. “I wanted my MBA to build a new muscle, allowing me to demonstrate new leadership and management skills for future endeavors.”
Chidi Igweh
Chidi decided to pursue his MBA at Rice Business partly because of the school’s deep ties to the health care industry. Because he lives and works in Newark, New Jersey, he chose the online program.
“A lot of technology is missing in developing countries, in veterinary and human medicine,” Igweh said. “My experience could help create a bridge to support medical providers. Being at Rice gives me the support to do those things.”
Alan Vu
Alan said Rice was his dream school growing up. He applied to and graduated from Rice University as an undergraduate student. When it came time to decide on an MBA program, Alan cited MBA@Rice’s flexible class schedule, engaged faculty, and close friends as reasons for returning.
“With my busy schedule as a resident, the MBA@Rice allowed me to pursue the degree at my own pace — from anywhere in the world — while still being able to further my medical education.”
— Alan Vu, MBA@Rice Graduate, 2026
Class Profile
As a rule, Rice Business seeks entrepreneurially-minded students from a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds. Our community is our strength, and having a community made up of diverse individuals with a common goal makes us even stronger.
Average Age:
33.6
Average Years of Professional Experience:
8.9 years
Student population affiliated with the military:
18%
Make Connections.
Transform Your Career.
Learn how the online MBA can open doors for you throughout your career.
On-Campus vs. Online MBA Modality
What Stays the Same with the Online MBA?
With our online MBA you can still enjoy a quality curriculum and access to a diverse community of like-minded professionals. Here’s how online and traditional classes compare:
- Your Rice diploma
- Much of the application process
- Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
- Our cohort selectivity
- Credit hours to graduate
- Opportunities for students to participate in on-campus organizations
- Our professors, grading system and office hours
- Alumni status
What’s Different with the Online MBA?
- Smaller cohorts
- Quarterly intakes, giving you the opportunity to start the program when it makes sense for you
- The online platform, which delivers the Rice Business curriculum wherever you are in the world
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The Online MBA Curriculum
The MBA from Rice Business empowers you to act on big ideas and tackle complex challenges — giving you the tools to elevate your career, create value across your organization and meet the demands of today and tomorrow.
Our highly customizable curriculum will help develop your understanding of essential business principles such as financial accounting, business analytics, marketing strategy, leadership and finance. You’ll then learn to apply these larger concepts throughout an organization as you hone your skills with your choice of electives.
One Program, Two Pathways
Rice’s accelerated online MBA is designed to meet you where you are. Whether you’re an experienced professional ready to sharpen your leadership edge, or an emerging leader eager to accelerate your trajectory, there’s a pathway for you.
The Experienced Track is for professionals with three or more years of work experience who are ready to deepen their expertise and expand their impact.
The Early Career Track is for high-potential professionals with less than three years of work experience and a strong undergraduate academic background.
No matter which option you select, you can expect to complete your online MBA in just 24 months.
About the Early Career Track
The Early Career Track is a structured pathway within the Rice online MBA program — not a separate degree, an easier path or an alternative credential. Like Experienced Track candidates, Early Career Track candidates don’t need to submit GMAT or GRE scores. The next start date for the Early Career Track is July 2027.
Early Career Track students begin the program with a dedicated peer cohort, connecting with fellow early-career professionals who are navigating similar transitions and pursuing ambitious goals. From team projects to group discussions and networking, that shared context makes the experience immediately relevant — and positions you to hit the ground running.
Early Career Track students are full members of Rice’s online MBA ecosystem. By year two, they integrate into the broader cohort and earn the same degree as their Experienced Track peers.
Leadership & Professional Development
A distinguishing feature of the Early Career Track is the Leadership Accelerator and Professional Development Seminar Series, which runs throughout the first academic year. Held live online approximately every two weeks, these sessions are led by faculty and feature alumni engagement.
Designed to complement classroom learning, the series focuses on leadership development, professional communication, career exploration and readiness, and networking while helping students build meaningful connections with peers, faculty, alumni, and program leadership. Participation is required.
Wondering if the Early Career Track is the right fit for you? Connect with an enrollment specialist.
Electives and Career Path Focus Areas
The curriculum at Rice Business is comprehensive. It equips students with a versatile skill set, priming them for leadership roles across diverse industries.
However, for those looking to explore specific subjects in greater depth, we offer optional focus areas. For some, it’s a strategic move to stand out in the job market, facilitate a career shift, engage in unique learning experiences or simply follow a passion.
There are no additional credit requirements needed.
With 13.5 elective credits, you’ve got the flexibility to make the MBA program your own. You can choose electives that align with your specific interests, go with a general management approach or select one of seven career or industry focus areas:
CORPORATE STRATEGY
CORPORATE FINANCE
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
MARKETING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ENERGY
HEALTHCARE
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“
When you expand your perspective, you expand your potential. The Rice MBA gives you the tools to approach challenges and solve problems differently, and the mindset to identify and seize new opportunities.”
—Barbara Bennett, DIRECTOR OF MBA@RICE
Rice Business Faculty: Accomplished. Attentive. Invested.
Recognized for their achievements in teaching, research and practice, Rice Business faculty members consistently publish groundbreaking business insights while remaining invested in your success, working with students one-on-one to help them explore their own big ideas. Learn more about program leaders and faculty members or at Rice Business Wisdom, our online ideas magazine.
Barbara Bennett, Academic Director of Healthcare Initiatives and Director of MBA@Rice and Professor of Finance and Statistics
Barbara Bennett is a professor of finance and statistics. A member of the Business School faculty since 1994, Bennett has taught a variety of courses across all of the degree programs, most recently Portfolio Management and Economic Environment of Business, and she served for several years as the academic director of the El Paso Corporation Finance Center.
For 11 years she served as senior associate dean of degree programs. During that time, Professor Bennett led the launch of both the online MBA program, the first online degree at Rice University, and the new Hybrid MBA. She also played a crucial role in launching and growing the undergraduate business major.
Learn more about Professor Bennett’s research interests and published works.
Janet H. Moore, Director of Communication Program and Senior Lecturer in Communication
Janet H. Moore brings more than 25 years of global professional experience. She is both the director of the communication program and a lecturer at Rice Business. Janet and the other communication faculty continue to customize the business communication curriculum to meet student needs and interests.
Janet spent the first 15 years of her career practicing international business law. She graduated with honors from both Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the University of Texas School of Law, and also attended the London School of Economics.
Learn more about Professor Moore’s background and teaching interests.
Utpal Dholakia, George R. Brown Professor of Marketing
Utpal Dholakia is the George R. Brown Professor of Marketing at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. He has a master’s degree in psychology, and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in operations research from the Ohio State University, and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Bombay.
His research interests lie in studying motivational psychology of consumers and online marketing issues such as virtual communities and online auctions. He also studies relational aspects of consumer behavior. He has published in a number of marketing and management journals, and consults with firms in financial services, energy, health-care and other industries.
Learn more about Dr. Dholakia’s professional affiliations, research interests, and more.
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Admissions
Are You Ready To Make Your Move?
Applications to the online MBA program are accepted on a rolling basis, and we evaluate your candidacy based on a variety of elements in addition to your test scores and work experience. This includes your essays, virtual interview, leadership roles, community involvement and career progression. To apply, you must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university.
The final deadline for the October 2026 cohort is August 26, 2026.
Learn more about admissions requirements and deadlines.
GMAT/GRE: Not Required for Qualified Online MBA Candidates
We go beyond test scores to identify which applicants are Rice-ready — looking at previous coursework and grades, professional development and certifications, and past and present job experience.
Students who meet the following qualifications are not required to submit a GMAT/GRE score:
- 3+ years of professional full-time work experience
- Terminal degree of M.D. or Ph.D.
- A master’s degree in a STEM field
- Professional certification of CFA or CPA
- Submitting an Executive Assessment Score at the time of application
A waiver may be considered for other candidates, but you must demonstrate to the committee your ability to handle the rigor of the program by submitting this waiver request.
Waivers are still available on a case-by-case basis for students who do not meet the qualifications above, however a waiver application is required. Please contact your enrollment specialist for more information.
How to Apply
Step 1:
Make sure you’re eligible for admission.
Step 2:
Start your application. You just need your email and a password to create your account.
Step 3:
Complete the online application. Be sure to have your college transcripts, letters of recommendation, and more ready to submit.
Step 4:
Monitor your application status and be sure to submit any missing information when asked.
Military at Rice Business
We honor the service of our military students and value the perspective they bring to our MBA classroom.
If you are an active-duty service member, veteran or military spouse or family member, you may be eligible for benefits that can help make your MBA more affordable. Our online MBA is rated in the top 20 online MBA programs for veterans by U.S. News & World Report.4
Based on your individual eligibility, the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program are two options to consider.
Learn more about the military benefits you can access with Rice’s online MBA.
FAQ about the Online MBA
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To determine the value of an MBA, you need to consider what’s important to you in a program — network, career services, electives? — and decide whether a business school delivers. At Rice Business, we’ve designed our online MBA experience around connection, innovation, career support, boldness and flexibility. If you share our vision, you belong here.
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The length of an MBA program depends on many factors, including the number of credits and whether you attend full time or part time. You can complete the Rice online MBA program in as few as 24 months, or you can take fewer courses per quadmester to earn your degree in 36 months.
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Work experience is not always a requirement for earning your MBA online. The online MBA program at Rice offers an Early Career Track, which is ideal for candidates with 0–3 years of work experience.
You may be a good candidate for the Early Career Track if you are a recent graduate or an early career professional with a strong undergraduate academic background. Students in this track will join a dedicated cohort of fellow early career professionals for the first year of study before integrating into the experienced online MBA student body.
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Testing requirements for MBA programs vary, but the Rice Business online MBA program requires GMAT/GRE scores from the past five years. You may qualify for a GMAT waiver if you have sufficient professional or academic experience, such as seven years of professional full-time work experience or a graduate degree in a quantitative field.
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We can’t speak for all employers, but we think it’s safe to say that most hiring managers care more about the quality of the education than the learning modality.
With MBA@Rice, courses are created and designed by the same faculty that teach in our other MBA programs. Your diploma will indicate the same degree as the on-campus degree.
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Tuition for the 2026–27 academic year at Rice University is $2,374 per credit. Students are required to complete 54 credits, totaling $128,196 for the entirety of the online MBA program.
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Yes, an online MBA can help you move into a leadership role or move to a different position in the financial sector.
Many Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) have online MBAs, which can prepare them with the management, financial, and strategic leadership skills necessary to succeed at the top of prominent organizations. For working professionals looking to pivot to a different industry or concentration, online MBA programs may offer opportunities to pursue electives that correspond with their intended path, giving them an opportunity to learn more about this new field and succeed once they graduate.
MBA@Rice equips students with a versatile skill set, priming them for leadership roles across industries. Rice’s online MBA program also offers electives that may align with your desired career pivots, including classes focused on entrepreneurship, marketing, the healthcare industry, and more.
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There is no age limit for enrolling in an MBA program. However, working professionals in their 30s and 40s may find it more convenient to enroll in an online MBA program, like MBA@Rice, due to its flexible course structure and ability to attend classes from anywhere.
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No, AI cannot replace the versatile skills an MBA program teaches students. However, it can change the way MBA graduates learn and perform daily tasks, should they choose to utilize the tool.
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While it’s hard to establish a clear link between a certain concentration and earning potential, it’s important to specialize in an area that aligns with your career goals and your industry context. Online MBA programs with certain concentrations can equip you with valuable skills and knowledge, other factors — including market trends and organization-specific needs — play a role, too.
Take the Next Step
Request information about Rice’s online MBA today to lead change in business tomorrow.
Rice Business partners with 2U to support the delivery of this online program. Rice Business has full control over the program, including all core academic functions. Learn more about 2U’s roles and responsibilities.
- Best Online MBA Programs. (2026). U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 2, 2026. ↩︎
- Top 50 Online MBA Programs. (2026). The Princeton Review. Retrieved October 2, 2026. ↩︎
- Best Online MBA Programs. (2026). U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 2, 2026. ↩︎
- Best Online MBA Programs. (2026). U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 2, 2026. ↩︎