For working professionals who want to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree with a flexible schedule, the new Hybrid MBA program at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business opens this summer.
The Hybrid MBA — the first of its kind in Texas — preserves the benefits of the in-person educational experience while leveraging the flexibility offered by online learning through live Zoom sessions and asynchronous course content. The new program will also utilize the same highly recognized faculty as other Rice Business programs in developing and delivering courses.
Students will attend class in person on campus once a month, with online education during the weeks between. Tuition includes residency at a hotel close to Rice during on-campus weekends and immersion weeks so students can connect with classmates and skip the commute.
"After researching demand for MBA programs, we found that prospective students want an in-person experience but not one that meets every week," said Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice Business. "Our Hybrid MBA makes it easier for working professionals in Houston and regionally to earn a Rice MBA with the on-campus experience they want.”
The 22-month, 54-credit program will provide students with all of the advantages of the Rice curriculum, community, campus and faculty. It begins in July with a one-week immersion on campus, followed by the monthly on-campus meetings, which will align with other Rice MBA programs to provide opportunities for hybrid students to interact with those in other programs as well as take Professional Weekend MBA electives. There is one immersion week at the end of the first year, and the program concludes with a one-week Global Field Experience in May 2025 before students return to campus for graduation.
To learn more about the Hybrid MBA, click here.
Rice Business will continue to offer its top-ranked MBA programs: Full-Time, Professional, Online and Executive MBA.
Rice Business has grown dramatically over the past decade, and that momentum now has a new home in Asha and Farid Virani Hall, a 112,000-square-foot building which now stands alongside McNair Hall, offering students a combined 300,000 square-feet designed to support the school’s expanding community of graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, researchers and alumni.
The 112,000-square-foot facility expands the business school's footprint by 65%. It creates a central hub for the university’s most popular undergraduate major.
“Felix embodies the best of Rice Business. He leaves communities stronger than he found them, and I am confident his impact will continue well beyond our campus,” said George Andrews, associate dean of Degree Programs.
