The Rice MBA Curriculum
The Rice MBA offers innovative programs, courses and curricula that respond to the rapidly changing world of business. You'll work through AI in practice, the energy transition, and the strategy and leadership courses that bookend the degree — with world-class faculty who know your name, are genuinely invested in your journey, and want to see you succeed. Together, we will drive meaningful impact.
Deep Connections. Better Business.
Interested in Rice Business?
"The one thing that I would like my students to take away from my teaching and classes is the importance of real, genuine thinking. Particularly in an era where we now think that we can outsource much of our thinking to machines. Human judgment will be more and more important as we go forward."
- Professor Alessandro Piazza
Explore Your Options
Program Specific Curriculum
- Full-Time MBA curriculum
- Professional MBA curriculum
- Hybrid MBA curriculum
- Executive MBA curriculum
- MBA@Rice curriculum
Explore Your Options
Program Specific Curriculum
Where Professors Know Your Name
Not all MBA faculty are the same. Ours are full-time researchers who live in Houston, teach year-round and hold office hours in the building where you take class — not visiting instructors flown in for a weekend. With a small student-to-professor ratio, you’ll know your professors and they’ll know you — your work, your goals, where you’re trying to go. And 100% of our tenured and tenure-track professors actively teach, so the people producing the research are the same people in front of your class.
Be Prepared for the Future
Business is evolving. In a world where AI is reconstructing daily life and technology seems to transform overnight, certainty is a luxury — adaptability is a skill. We change as the world changes around us and are committed to helping you do the same. You’ll engage with emerging topics, such as the energy transition and AI capabilities, and we constantly evaluate our curriculum to ensure you’re prepared for the next big thing.
Gain Global Experience
We recognize that diverse perspectives can improve decision-making, and effective leaders must excel in leading across different geographical and cultural contexts. In addition to our global offsite electives, international seminars, and study abroad opportunities, our core curriculum requires MBA students to participate in a global field experience where you collaborate with classmates on consulting projects that address real-world challenges for an international organization. You and your team present your recommendations to the organization in person.
Acquire Practical Experience
Our curriculum offers you a competitive advantage by providing plenty of hands-on opportunities, both for credit and not-for-credit, to acquire the practical experience that employers look for. This includes our Global Field Experience, New Enterprise program, Marketing Lab and more. You’ll graduate having already done the work, not just studied it.
Learn Effective Leadership Skills
We equip you with the core quantitative and hard skills expected from a top MBA. And we take it a step further. Our curriculum is intentionally bookended by strategy and leadership courses and offers a robust leadership coaching program designed to teach you how to develop individuals and teams.
Customize Your Courses
All MBA students may customize their degree and choose from our slate of 100+ electives (as their schedule allows), including courses such as: Strategy in Tech Ecosystem, AI for Customer Analytics, Breakthrough Negotiations, Managing Energy Assets, Energy Markets in Transition, and Disruption in Commercial Real Estate.