What Does It Mean to Specialize Your MBA?

In the world of MBA programs, breadth is key. For this reason, 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 delve deeper into specific areas, specializations offer an excellent opportunity to focus your academic journey.

Specializations also serve as an effective narrative tool, helping you craft a story about your career interests and ambitions. They are particularly beneficial for students aiming to pivot into new industries, as they demonstrate your commitment and expertise in a specific area.

What is a specialization? 

Specializations are focused tracks within the MBA program that allow students to hone their expertise in a particular field.

The decision to specialize is entirely up to you. 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. For others, the general MBA experience, with its wide range of 100+ electives, provides the diversity they seek.

Our advising team is here to support you, whether you’re certain about a specialization or exploring your options. Engaging with faculty and career advisors can help clarify how a specialization might align with your goals and interests.

Specializing at Rice Business

Rice prides itself on delivering a top-ranked education with plenty of flexibility, which is why we recently launched our Hybrid program. Specializations offer another way for students to customize their degree to match their schedules, interests and goals.

Our Online MBA students have seven focus areas to choose from. And our on-campus students can choose from among 10 specializations.

• Accounting
• Energy
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• Healthcare
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Operations Management
• Real Estate
• Strategic Management

Each specialization requires 9-12 credits and is designed to complement the broader MBA education.

Keep in mind: specializations are not mandatory, nor are they necessary to secure a job. Instead they are a means to enhance your personal and professional growth. Our advising team can work with you to plan your elective selections, using specializations as a guide.

Timing and Flexibility

Since specializations are not officially tracked at Rice Business, our students don’t need to formally declare one (or two). We recommend deciding on a specialization as you begin taking electives. This timing allows you to tailor your elective choices to match your interests and career aspirations.

While specializations provide a focused pathway, they do not alter the core MBA experience. All students, regardless of specialization, benefit from a core curriculum that recruiters expect MBA graduates to have. Specializations can enhance your MBA journey by offering targeted learning opportunities and helping you network within your chosen field.

For more information, please check out our specializations page or consult our admissions team.