MAcc Enrollment Guide

You should have already received an email from the Rice Business Recruiting and Admissions Team with your NetID, Student ID number, and instructions on how to set up your Rice email. If you need instructions on configuring your Rice Exchange email, click here.

If you have any questions, please contact: ricemacc@rice.edu

Student Health Data Form: The Health Data Form is required for all full-time students of the University. You must fill out the form and in some cases contact your doctor to get your records or schedule a visit to update your immunizations. A physical exam and physician’s signature are required for new students. Please be advised that new students under the age of 22 will need to show proof of a meningitis vaccination ten days before the semester starts. You must complete and submit this form by Monday, July 14. Contact: hlsv@rice.edu 

Student Health Insurance/Waiver: Information about your student health insurance options and the open enrollment dates can be found here. All students are required to have health insurance coverage. If you already have health insurance, you may waive Rice student insurance by demonstrating comparable insurance coverage. Please review the waiver requirements. To register for or waive Rice Health Insurance during the open enrollment period, visit https://studenthealthinsurance.rice.edu/enroll-or-waive-coverage. You will need your Rice student ID number to complete the process. You must register for or waive Rice Student Health Insurance by Saturday, August 30.

IMPORTANT: If you do not take action to enroll in or waive the student insurance plan prior to the deadline, you will be automatically enrolled into the insurance plan and responsible for the full premium amount. Once enrolled, you will be unable to cancel coverage for any reason.

To help prepare those of you who will be seeking a full-time job offer this fall, we have collaborated with Rice’s Center for Career Development (CCD) to create an online "MAcc Interviewing Skills and Job Search" course. Each of you will be emailed an invitation to access and take the CCD Career Course on Canvas the week of June 16.

If you are not interning this summer or if you do not expect to accept a full-time job offer from your current summer internship, you are required to complete this online course by Friday, August 1. If, on the other hand, you expect to begin the MAcc program having already accepted a full-time job offer, the course is optional for you. The entire course should take fewer than 3 hours to complete.

Note that the course’s resume module, which is the second module following the course overview module, must be completed by Thursday, July 3. That resume module culminates in you uploading an updated version of your resume. We will collect all job-seeking students' resumes and share them with recruiters from the "Big Four" public accounting firms in July.

You can remove registration holds using the ESTHER website. ESTHER login instructions and your PIN were already emailed to you. Before your registration can be completed, you must clear all of your student holds (Emergency Notification, Address Verification, Honor Code, Student Health Services). The business school registrar will register you for your fall courses, so you will not need to worry about enrolling yourself. Instructions on how to clear the holds can be found here. Please remove your registration holds by Monday, June 30. 

Related: What is ESTHER?

Contact: jgsbregistrar@rice.edu

Official Transcripts

We require official transcripts from your previous higher education institutions. If you are a Rice student or alumni, you do not need to submit your Rice transcripts; we will retrieve your Rice transcript ourselves. Most U.S. institutions are able to send us official transcripts electronically via an official electronic delivery service. We are unable to accept transcripts that you personally send to us over email; even if they are certified as "official" PDFs, we will still need them to be sent to us directly from your school. When requesting electronic delivery, please have your transcripts sent to ricemacc@rice.edu. If your institution is not able to send electronic transcripts, your official transcript should be mailed to:

MAcc Program Admissions
6100 Main St., MS-531
Houston, TX 77005

Test Scores

If you provided a standardized test score (GMAT or GRE) as part of the admissions process, we require that you have your official scores sent to us using the codes below:

The GMAT code is 3WS-WD-35.
The GRE code is 7502.

Please send all official transcripts and test scores by Friday, August 1.

You will be using Excel regularly in your MAcc courses and in your subsequent career. In the first half of the fall semester, you will take MACC 563: Data Analytics for Accountants, which is primarily devoted to advanced Excel features. This course assumes you are already comfortable using Excel. To ensure you have the basics of Excel mastered before MACC 563 begins, we recommend you complete a self-paced, online Excel tutorial called "Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel" before classes start. Below are instructions to access this tutorial.

• Go to the Coursera for Rice website, https://www.coursera.org/programs/coursera-for-
  rice-zuk8v? and click the “Join” button.
• Click the “Log in with Rice University”.
• Select “I’m a new Coursera user” and click “Continue”.
• Enter your Rice Email, create a Password and click “Continue”.
  • Please note: Coursera for Rice is only available to those with an @rice.edu email address. You must use your official Rice email to be able to access Coursera for Rice.
• Click “Join Program”. Before you begin to browse courses, log out by clicking your name at the top right corner, then “Log Out”. This will refresh your account.
• Log back in by click the top right corner - “Log In”. Use the same Rice email and password you used before.
• Once you have logged in successfully, scroll down until you see the section, “Rice University Collection”. Select the Business Statistics and Analysis tile, which should appear first on the left.
• Click “Enroll for Free”.
  • The Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel course includes four modules. You only need to complete those four. You do not need to continue with the rest of the courses in the specialization.

This tutorial can be completed on your own schedule. You should budget about 12 total hours for this tutorial, so map out a schedule to complete the tutorial now. If you are not already confident using Excel, you should treat this course as a priority. Without a solid foundation, you will be at a disadvantage from day one in MACC 563.

Rice students are eligible for a free license to Microsoft Office 365, which includes the latest version of Excel. See https://kb.rice.edu/68551 for instructions on creating your free Office 365 account. Once you’ve created your Office 365 account, you can download Excel for your computer. Refer to the “Technology Requirements” section.

Rice has partnered with NameCoach to allow you to record your name inside of ESTHER, and that recording can be used to assist your instructors and others at Rice (e.g., during class and at commencement) in how to pronounce your name. Please record your name by Friday, August 8. 
 
To record your name in ESTHER:

• From your web browser, go to ESTHER.
• Log in using your Rice Net ID credentials.
• Authenticate using DUO authentication.
• From the ESTHER Main Menu, click Personal Information.
• From the list of Personal Information options, click Update Name Pronunciation (NameCoach).
• Click the NameCoach button.
• Enter/update your full name or your name as you would like it to be said/announced.
• Enter/update the phonetic spelling of your name.
• Select an option to record your name.
• Web Recorder will allow you to press Record and record your name when you follow the on-screen prompts.
• The phone will allow you to enter a phone number. You will receive an automated call that will allow you to speak your name for recording. Please be sure to follow the prompts, and please be sure to wait until it indicates "Call is completed" before proceeding to the next step.
• Click on Save all the changes to save the submitted changes.
• Click Close to close the window

All Rice Business students must have their own PC laptop with an x64-based processor. Be sure to verify your PC has an x64-based processor using these instructions.

Because you will be running Windows-only applications on your laptop in your MAcc classes, a Mac laptop is not an acceptable substitute for a PC laptop. Unfortunately, running Windows through a virtual machine on a Mac is not viable; everyone must have an x64-based PC laptop.

Office 365 Education is free to eligible Rice University students and can be used on personally owned devices. You can find information on how to obtain Office 365 here. 

Required Minimum Hardware:

• x64-based processor
• 4 GB of system memory
• 802.11ac wireless card
• 320 GB of hard drive capacity
• Audio output capacity

Additionally, full details about the Office of Technology resources available to you as a Jones School Graduate Business Student can be found here.

If you plan to drive a car to campus, you will need to obtain a campus parking pass. You can purchase your parking pass here via your Rice imagineOne "iO" account. After signing in to your iO account, click on the "Parking" button.

Related: imagineOne Training Resources for Students

Most MAcc students choose to park in Rice’s "West Lot," which is a surface parking lot that is a short walk to McNair Hall, the business school building. Some MAcc students opt to pay a higher rate to park in the underground Central Parking Garage, which is below McNair Hall. 

If you purchase a parking pass, you will be able to pick up your pass during the week of MAcc Launch from the Rice Parking Office. The Rice Parking Office is located within the Central Campus Garage. The Central Campus Garage itself is the basement of McNair Hall. 

Parking passes for the Academic Year will become available starting Monday, June 30.

Contact: parking@rice.edu

Whether you are a new or returning Rice University student, you will need to electronically submit a headshot photo for use of your Rice University Student ID Card. Photo requirements and the link to upload your photo can be found here: New Student ID Card Instructions. Please keep in mind that you must follow the photo instructions carefully for your photo to be approved. We recommend that you wait until after July 1 to upload your picture.

After you’ve uploaded your picture, the Rice Police Department (RUPD) will notify you whether your photo was approved. Your ID will then be available for you to pick up after mid-July from the RUPD office. Most students pick up their IDs during the week of Launch.

*Applications to be considered for Rice Graduate Housing were due on April 20. After this deadline, completed applications will be processed depending on availability. If you are interested in Graduate Housing options, we encourage you to reach out to the property to inquire about availability.

Rice University is pleased to offer housing to incoming first-year graduate students at two university-managed properties - both located within a mile of campus.

• Rent includes internet, basic cable at RGA and internet cable or online streaming TV at RVA and utilities (electricity not included)
• Furnished apartments with full size beds, chair/desk and chest of drawers
• Shuttles to campus every 15-20 minutes during weekdays
• Shopping shuttle on weekends
• Planned social events and activities

Please keep in mind the following important information:

• The priority deadline for graduate housing has passed, but there may still be housing available. Check with grad housing for more information.

For more information, please visit the Graduate Student Housing website.

Resources for off-campus housing can be found on the Graduate and Postdoctoral housing page. A Google Map of rental data was compiled by graduate students. This was compiled to provide an estimation of cost of housing available. To view the map, click here. 

Rice Village Apartments

Rice Village Apartments (2410 Shakespeare St, Houston, TX 77030) is a four-story complex featuring a modern design that just opened in the spring of 2009. It is conveniently located on Shakespeare Street adjacent to the ever-so-popular Rice Village. The location can provide extra benefits to the residents without a car because the Rice Village showcases over 300 shops, boutiques, and restaurants. This distinctive community protects important green space and trees in this attractive neighborhood. There is a resident herb garden and fruit trees throughout. Each unit offers appliances certified by Energy Star to conserve energy and protect the environment, giving residents lower electricity bills. The laundry machines alert you via email when your laundry is done. Disability accommodations are also provided. You will find the value of making the Rice Village Apartments your home, by offering affordable and unique floor plans within a prestigious area of Houston.

Rice Graduate Apartments

Rice Graduate Apartments (1515 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005) is a garden-style complex located on Bissonnet in the Houston Museum District only seconds away from Rice Campus. With ease you can visit the Museum of Fine Arts, Contemporary Arts Museum, Museum of Natural Science, Children’s Museum, Health Museum, and the Holocaust Museum. The Houston Zoo is also conveniently located near the Graduate Apartments. This community was designed with you, the Rice University graduate student, in mind. We offer you the space you need to have success in your academic pursuits. Besides the large room you have in your apartment, you will also find; a computer room, two study rooms, a television lounge, a clubhouse, and two courtyards. When you make Rice Graduate Apartments your home, besides the obvious advantages: quick and easy access to campus and access to community resources, studies show that students living near campus actually have a better opportunity for growth and success.

You can find off-campus housing options through the Rice University Off-Campus Housing Website.

A Google Map of rental data was compiled by graduate students. This was compiled to provide an estimation of cost of housing available. To view the map, click here. The Graduate Student Association (GSA) has compiled a comprehensive guide to housing - everything from Houston neighborhoods to tips on setting up utilities. You can view the GSA housing guide here.