Rice University’s Virani Undergraduate School of Business is introducing the Moody Business Scholars Program, a highly selective, cohort-based undergraduate experience designed to prepare high-achieving business students for careers in competitive industries.
The program, funded by The Robert L. Moody, Sr. Fund for Undergraduate Business Students, supports co-curricular programming for undergraduate business majors, including an industry speaker series, immersive career preparation and networking programs, industry treks, case competitions and other experiential learning initiatives. Approximately 30 students per year will be selected across concentration-based tracks in finance and management. A third track in marketing is expected to launch in 2028.
Each track is designed around a small, highly motivated cohort and around experiences that extend beyond the traditional curriculum.
Finance scholars who want to pursue high-profile careers in finance will participate in new opportunities, such as a Wall Street career trek, a dedicated industry speaker series and a capstone experience.
Management scholars will pursue pathways in consulting or academic research, supported by hands-on consulting projects and interview training, as well as relationships with national and global firms, a consulting bootcamp, travel to case competitions and professional conferences, faculty-mentored research opportunities and leadership roles in Rice Business’ behavioral research lab.
Across both tracks, students will receive professional development programming focused on interviewing, networking, personal branding and career strategy.
“This program allows us to identify students with exceptional potential and prepare them with the skills and experience that top firms and top doctoral programs expect,” said Robert Dittmar, associate dean of the Virani School and the Houston Endowment Professor of Finance. “From technical training and career treks to faculty-mentored research and the management of real investment capital, the experience is intentionally designed to give our students a decisive advantage.”
In 2021, the Moody Foundation made a $100 million commitment to Rice — the largest single gift toward the student experience in the university’s history — to build a transformative student center and to create 12 endowments supporting student opportunity and success in schools across the university. Collectively these opportunities are called the “Moody Experience.” This investment has helped create structured, career-relevant pathways for undergraduates, connecting students to top employers, graduate programs and research opportunities. In the process, Rice integrates faculty mentorship, alumni engagement and industry partnerships into a cohort experience to accelerate career readiness among undergraduate business students and to deepen student-faculty collaboration.
“The Moody Business Scholars Program represents the next step in the evolution of undergraduate business at Rice,” said Peter Rodriguez, Houston Endowment Dean of Rice Business, which includes the Jones Graduate School of Business and Virani Undergraduate School of Business. “We are creating a model that connects our students earlier and more intentionally to the industries, alumni and ideas that define the future of business. It reflects both the scale of opportunity in Houston and our ambition to continue to position Rice Business as a national leader in undergraduate business education.”
The finance concentration will begin accepting applications from rising sophomores and rising juniors in March 2026 with the first cohort starting in fall 2026. The management concentration will open its application process to current juniors in fall 2026, with the first cohort starting in the spring of 2027, aligning with students’ academic progression into advanced coursework.
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