Houston's MBA

Why Rice is Houston's Choice for the MBA

Interested in earning an MBA without leaving your job? I love to talk about why young professionals and experienced executives looking for an MBA in Houston choose Rice. The decision for fully employed students hinges on five things:

• Reputation
• Connections
• Campus
• Classes
• Faculty

The Rice Reputation

When I chat with new Professional MBA and Executive MBA students, the first thing they say is that they chose Rice because of its reputation. Everyone in town knows its high standards and rigorous curriculum. When your colleagues find out you’re going to Rice to get your MBA, they know you’ll bring something new to the table. They know your perspective on leadership and creativity will be deeper and broader and that you’ll share what you learn at work the next day.

Lasting Connections

The PMBAs and EMBAs also rave about their smart and savvy classmates. They say how having diverse backgrounds in your cohort or team — both culturally and professionally — generates new approaches to challenging situations. We do that on purpose. It’s not just putting great minds together to build a class. We put great minds together with diverse experiences to open the door for creativity and learning. Those connections extend beyond the classroom too. While you’ve just gained a cohort of new friends, you’re also broadening your network with all Rice alumni.

Our network and reputation are strong within companies in Houston. Making a career change or connection and asking for support throughout your career is easier with a shared Rice degree as your calling card. Careers are long. You want to select a school that will give you the edge your entire career.

Speaking of edge, our No. 1 entrepreneurship ranking continues to connect students and alumni with their big ideas and bigger dreams. Maybe you meet entrepreneurial alums at the Ion in midtown or apply for the Future Founders Summit with the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Whatever it is, an entrepreneurial mindset is central to our teaching and your professional tool kit. With Texas being the hottest spot for relocating tech giants lately, you’ll be right in the heart of the entrepreneurship ecosystem with your Houston MBA.

Check out Owl Have You Know, our alumni podcast, and take a deeper dive into some of our alumni opportunities, such as lifelong learning, career services and volunteering.

Campus Life

Of course, it’s really hard to make connections without being in person. Now that we’re back on track, our dazzling, tree-lined campus acts as a backdrop while you take classes with Houston’s top professionals, meet with your professors for a beer at Valhalla, go to a baseball game at Reckling Park or a recital at the Shepherd School. Come and explore. Come and relax. Come in person and walk the campus, grab a bite to eat at Brochstein Pavilion and watch the colors change in the James Turrell Skyspace. (Can you tell how much I love this campus?)

Best in Classroom

What happens in the classroom — the rigorous curriculum that everyone talks about — doesn’t just stay in the classroom. What you study is relevant to what you do:

• Data Analysis
• Organizational Behavior
• Operations Management
• Financial Accounting
• Managerial Economics
• Strategic Business Communication
• Other core courses and electives

Your expertise will deepen with each class. And so will your perspective. You’ll share your knowledge, experience, insight and questions with your classmates, not compete with them. You’ll be amazed how much you gain from them and how much you give back in return. It’s why the Princeton Review ranked us #8 Best MBA Classroom Experience in 2020.

Leading Faculty

The magic can’t happen in class without our expert faculty leading the charge. With 144 faculty members and a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, your professors will know your name and be invested in you, your success and your future. Recognized for their scholarship across 11 academic fields, they are publishing research at a staggering rate — 140 articles in 2020 alone. So you know you’re getting cutting-edge academic theory and outcomes when your professor stands before the class to teach you something new. Rice Business Wisdom is our online ideas magazine that features summaries of our faculty research so you can read about your professors’ research before you take a class with them. Faculty contributions in research, teaching and service are critical to fulfilling the Rice Business mission.

Your contribution is critical too. If you’re ready to have a conversation about our Professional or Executive MBA programs, contact our office so we can help you make the right decision about where to earn your MBA in Houston. We really believe you belong here.

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Interested in learning more about the MBA programs offered by Rice Business? Send us an email at ricemba@rice.edu.