
Global Field Experience
Global Field Experience
The Global Field Experience is an adventurous, immersive learning requirement that will change your perception of the world and the way you do business in it. These opportunities allow you to take what you learn in the first year of the Rice Business MBA program and apply it to short-term projects for organizations and communities in diverse cultural settings. As ambassadors of Rice and leaders in the business world, you have the opportunity to develop new perspectives, learn how others view the world, practice critical and creative thinking, as well as analytical reasoning to solve real-world business problems. Rice Business is committed to building strong, experienced global partners and leaders through the Global Field Experience. Join us.
- Who is it for: All MBA students
- Duration: One week in country
- When: Varies by program
COVID-19 Update
In keeping with the CDC’s recommendation to avoid nonessential travel and Rice’s guidance against domestic and international travel, Rice Business made the decision to cancel all school-sponsored travel, in the fall of 2020 such as career treks (Week on Wall Street, Seattle, Silicon Valley) and the travel component of international academic courses. This included Global Field Experiences and Global Offsite Electives.
As we move into the Spring semester there remain many uncertainties related to international travel and how we will work with our partnerships across the globe. While we have made the difficult decision to cancel the travel component of the 2021 GFE, the courses will continue as scheduled through a virtual platform. Many components of these courses take 7-9 months of pre-planning and the majority of our international partners do not feel comfortable moving forward at this time. That being said, we have not made the decision to cancel university sponsored travel for the spring as a whole. We will continue to evaluate and monitor opportunities outside the GFE to offer our students.
Rice Business relied on many entities to make this decision, including the CDC, International SOS (ISOS) and U.S. Department of State, Rice University Crisis Management Advisory Committee and student leadership. The considerations include exit and entry bans for many countries, quarantine requirements and strained health systems. Our number one priority is the health and safety of our students, staff, faculty, our international partners and our community at large. We will continue to monitor the global pandemic and state of affairs and will re-evaluate new university sponsored travel opportunities as things develop into the spring semester.
“I didn't realize how comprehensively we were going to learn about the country. It really opened my eyes to a different ideology."
Fareen Elias
Full-Time MBA '19
Sample Schedule:
MBA Program | Location | Date |
---|---|---|
Full-Time | Bogota, Columbia & Rio de Janiero, Brazil | May |
Professional — Weekend | Buenos Aires, Argentina | June |
Professional — Evening | Lima, Peru | June |
Professional — Evening | Santiago, Chile | October |
Executive | Sao Paulo, Brazil | April |
MBA@Rice | Panama City, Panama | June |
Example Projects:
Company | Industry | Project |
---|---|---|
Linda Agency |
Advertising Agency |
Business Plan |
Fivi |
Software and IT Services |
Growth Strategy |
Education IT |
Online Education |
Market Entry Strategy |
Rocio del Miel |
Cosmetics and Consumer Products |
Integrated Marketing & Business Plan |
Chevron |
Oil & Gas/ Community Development |
Housing Solutions |
Tenaris |
Industrial Products |
Process Improvement Profitability Analysis |
Codika Solutions |
Mobile Application and Software |
European Expansion Strategy |
A Student Perspective On The Global Field Experience:

“Participating in the Global Field Experience in Argentina was an illuminating and rewarding experience. By partnering with local businesses, we were able to more fully immerse ourselves in the local culture and solve the business challenges these companies were facing through a more global lens. It’s one thing to read about the highs and lows of another country’s economy in The Wall Street Journal; it’s another thing entirely to experience these fluctuations first hand and be able to speak with locals to understand the effects that these impactful nuances have on the gamut of their economic environment. I work for a company with a global presence and know I will be able to directly apply my fruitful experiences in Argentina to my work. On another note, I feel that the GFE experience strengthened the bonds of our cohort. This trip cemented some friendships I know I will maintain well beyond graduation. I don’t know that I could say that with full confidence had we not shared so many memorable experiences while in Argentina.” - Claire Powell, Professional MBA '19
