Flight Path
Season 5, Episode 19
Farid Virani shares his entrepreneurial journey, the Virani family’s commitment to education and community, and the vision behind the Virani Undergraduate School of Business.
We’re Still #1 Graduate Entrepreneurship Program
For the seventh straight year, Rice Business ranks as the nation’s top graduate entrepreneurship program, according to The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine. This achievement reflects the drive of our students, alumni, faculty and partners who push boundaries and make real impact. We’re proud, grateful and ready to keep raising the bar.
Interested in Rice Business?
Explore Your Options
Find Your Program
- MBA Programs
- Master of Accounting
- Ph.D. Programs
- Undergraduate Programs
- Executive Education
Explore Your Options
Find Your Program
Intentionally Growing. Verifiably Great.
Only in Houston
Welcome to America’s most diverse city. Home to newcomers from around the globe, there’s no better place to live and launch. Think foodie heaven, off-the-grid culture, wildcatter innovation, sports, arts and 38,394 acres of parks.
Personally Speaking...
When on campus, Rice introduced me to alumni, benefactors, and others who shared my professional goals and had gone the path I wanted to go. I knew right then that Rice was dedicated to creating a custom experience that would shape my future.
Dallin Bud Scruggs
Full-Time MBA
There is more to an MBA besides the classes and grades. The events, information sessions, associations, workshops and everything in between will further enhance one's professional development and overall wellbeing.
Sunita Dharani
Professional MBA
One of the things the MBA program has given me is confidence — the feeling that there’s nothing I can’t explore.
Keyuri Popat
Executive MBA
The Virani Undergraduate School of Business
Launched in 2021, our undergraduate business program has quickly become a hub for innovation and leadership. In 2024, it was named the Virani Undergraduate School of Business in honor of a transformative gift from Houston philanthropists Farid and Asha Virani. Their generosity is fueling new opportunities for students through enhanced curricula, expanded co-curricular experiences and a dedicated associate dean — advancing our mission to educate the next generation of business leaders.
Owl Have You Know
Owl Have You Know is Rice Business’ podcast created to share the experiences of alumni, faculty, students and other members of our business community – real stories of belonging, failing, rebounding and, ultimately, succeeding.
Flight Path
Season 5, Episode 18
Marian shares how she’s built a career that bridges energy and art, the lessons she’s carried from Tabasco to Houston, and why creativity continues to guide everything she does.
Up Next
Season 5, Episode 17
In this special live episode, Al Danto '00, senior lecturer in entrepreneurship, shares his extraordinary career journey and his story of recovery after two life-threatening medical crises.
Image
Image
Faculty research applied in the classroom.
Financial Markets | Peer-Reviewed Research
A new study finds that “look-ahead bias” makes trading strategies appear highly profitable in published research, even though they fail in the real world.
Credit & Lending | Peer-Reviewed Research
Everyday retail purchases can help banks identify trustworthy borrowers who lack traditional credit histories, expanding access to credit for millions of unbanked people worldwide.
Customer-Based Strategy | Peer-Reviewed Research
Hiring a dedicated customer liaison can steer teams toward stronger collaboration and higher product adoption.
Pitch Perfect
The most successful companies are masters of innovation and marketing. It’s not enough to have a great product – you must be able to communicate its value. Rice Business champions the multidisciplinary nature of marketing, conducting cutting-edge, award-winning research published in the most prestigious marketing journals. Our faculty is dedicated to advancing marketing thought and practice and training a new generation of marketing leaders.
News & Events
School Updates
Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business has taken the No. 1 spot in the Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship magazines’ rankings of top schools for graduate entrepreneurship programs for the sixth year running.
School Updates
The Financial Management Association International (FMA) named Rice Business professor Kerry Back the recipient of its Innovation in Teaching Award, recognizing his creative, transferable, and impactful teaching in finance.
School Updates
The Virani Undergraduate School of Business at Rice University celebrated its one-year anniversary on October 29, with coffee and breakfast for its students as they made their way to class.
Events
Nov 12
5:30pm to 8:30pm
Rice University - McNair Hall, Anderson Family Commons