- Students’ average work experience: 7 years
- Program length: 2 years
- Class schedule: Monday through Thursday
- Location: Online with occasional Rice Residential events on campus
- Your degree: Master of Business Administration
Rice Business MBA | OnlineRice Business MBA | OnlineRice Business MBA | Online
MBA@Rice, the STEM-designated online MBA program from Rice Business, brings our tight-knit community and data-driven business education from our home of Houston to professionals around the world.
MBA@Rice, the STEM-designated online MBA program from Rice Business, brings our tight-knit community and data-driven business education from our home of Houston to professionals around the world.
MBA@Rice, the STEM-designated online MBA program from Rice Business, brings our tight-knit community and data-driven business education from our home of Houston to professionals around the world.
Rice Business MBA | OnlineRice Business MBA | OnlineRice Business MBA | Online
MBA@Rice, the STEM-designated online MBA program from Rice Business, brings our tight-knit community and data-driven business education from our home of Houston to professionals around the world.
MBA@Rice, the STEM-designated online MBA program from Rice Business, brings our tight-knit community and data-driven business education from our home of Houston to professionals around the world.
MBA@Rice, the STEM-designated online MBA program from Rice Business, brings our tight-knit community and data-driven business education from our home of Houston to professionals around the world.
Rice Business is a small school with big ideas. MBA@Rice, our online MBA program, brings our tight-knit community and modern business education to professionals across the United States and around the world.
The program consists of 54 credits and can be completed online in 24 months.
Jump to:
WHY ONLINE
CURRICULUM
FACULTY
ADMISSIONS
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.
“
Our rankings are a reflection of our commitment to excellence in teaching and serving our students. All courses at Rice Business are taught by a team of dedicated, nationally recognized faculty who integrate insights from their own rigorous, peer-reviewed research to help students thrive in today’s business landscape.”
PETER RODRIGUEZ, DEAN OF RICE BUSINESS
You’ve got goals, and MBA@Rice
is designed to help you reach them.
Here, you’ll build the confidence to grow and take risks, backed by the support of best-in-class faculty and your fellow ambitious students. We challenge you to embrace your entrepreneurial spirit, boldly pursue innovation to solve complex business problems, elevate your career and create value for your organization.
BRING YOUR BOLD
Build the core skill set and accomplished network you need to
nourish your creative ideas and advance your career. Join us.
Why Earn a Rice MBA Online?
We’re living in extraordinary times. 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.
Here’s what you can expect from our online MBA program:
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
Complete your assignments—which include real-world case studies, video simulations 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 participate in simulations, immersions, seminars, intersessions and group projects to practice hands-on skills.
ON-CAMPUS VS. ONLINE MBA MODALITY
With MBA@Rice, you get the same MBA degree along with the diverse community and quality curriculum you expect from Rice Business. Here’s how online and traditional classes compare.
What stays the same?
- Much of the application process
- Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
- Our cohort selectivity
- Class offerings and credit hours to graduate
- Opportunities for students to participate in on-campus organizations
- Our professors, grading system and office hours
- Alumni status
- Your Rice diploma
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
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.
ELECTIVES AND CAREER-PATH FOCUS AREAS
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
Choosing a career-path focus area is entirely optional. It’s a way to customize your academic experience and include career-focused or industry-focused courses in your overall elective portfolio, if you wish. All career-path focus area courses are suggested, and there are no additional credit requirements or degree-binding commitments.
Explore the curriculum and course structure.
YOUR RICE BUSINESS
NETWORK IS WAITING
If you’re ready to take the next step in your business career, reach out today.
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 individual leadership and faculty members below or at Rice Business Wisdom, our online ideas magazine that features clear, quick translations of faculty research that will change the way you think.
The Rice Business Alumni Community
8,372
RICE BUSINESS ALUMNI
13
REGIONAL CHAPTERS
55
COUNTRIES REPRESENTED
At Rice Business, we are proud of our alumni and their accomplishments across almost every major industry. As an MBA@Rice student, you will have access to our global alumni community, who regularly connect with current students looking for advice, mentorship or professional opportunities. In addition to joining the 8,000+ members of the Rice Business alumni network, you will also be part of the entire 80,000+ Rice University alumni global network.
MAKE CONNECTIONS.
TRANSFORM YOUR CAREER.
Learn how the online MBA can open doors for you throughout your career.
Admissions
ARE YOU READY TO BRING YOUR BOLD?
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.
Learn more about MBA@Rice admissions requirements and deadlines.
The final deadline for the October 2025 cohort is August 29, 2025.
GMAT/GRE: Not required for qualified MBA@Rice 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 admission counselor for more information.
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. MBA@Rice is ranked the No. 16 online MBA for veterans—and No. 2 in Texas—by U.S. News & World Report.7
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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At Rice Business, we’re looking for diverse perspectives, authentic voices and big ambition. The application is your opportunity to show us who you are. To apply to MBA@Rice, you must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university. Learn more about our application requirements.
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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.
Take the Next Step
Request information about Rice’s online MBA today to lead change in business tomorrow.
- Best Online MBA Programs, Fortune. (Accessed June 2024) ↩︎
- The Best Online MBA Programs for 2024, Poets&Quants. (Accessed June 2024) ↩︎
- Best Business Schools, U.S. News & World Report. (Accessed June 2024) ↩︎
- Top 50 Entrepreneurship: Grad, The Princeton Review. (Accessed June 2024) ↩︎
- Top 50 Online MBA Programs, The Princeton Review. (Accessed June 2024) ↩︎
- Best Online MBA Programs, U.S. News & World Report. (Accessed June 2024) ↩︎
- Best Online MBA Programs for Veterans, U.S. News & World Report. (Accessed June 2024) ↩︎