Deferred Enrollment
Secure Your Spot With Our Deferred MBA
Secure your spot at a top-ranked Full-Time MBA program in the most diverse city in the U.S. before you graduate from college. The application will open in December 2022 and the application deadline is June 30, 2023. Please request more information, check out our admissions guide or attend one of our events to learn more.
About the Rice MBA Deferred Enrollment Program
This program is intended for future leaders in business, government and nonprofit endeavors who are currently undergraduates.
Students apply to the Rice MBA Deferred Enrollment Program during their final year of college and reserve their spot for two to five years after graduation. Eligible students must be employed during the interim years to hold onto their seats. Students are encouraged to explore all sorts of career options — from traditional companies to startups — to help develop their professional and leadership skills during the required pre-MBA work.
International students and all majors are welcome to apply.
Key Benefits
Here are just a few benefits of our program:
- A secured spot in a top MBA program before you begin your career
- Individual career advising from our career development office
- Invitations to networking events
- Automatically considered for scholarships
- Read more details about the Full-Time MBA program
Create lifelong connections. You belong here.
Applying to the Program
Applicants to the Rice MBA Deferred Enrollment Program should select the Deferred Enrollment Program option from our program selection.
To be considered, students will need the following:
- GMAT or GRE test score (no waivers)
- Most recent transcript
- Resume
- 2 Letters of Recommendations:
- 1 can be from an academic source
- 1 must be from a supervisor from work or extracurricular activity
- One creative essay and two short answer responses
International applicants who are attending a non-English speaking undergraduate university will need to submit a TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or PTE score.
To learn more about the application, check out our admissions guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to frequently asked questions below.
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We look for seniors with clearly defined career goals. Well-rounded students who place equal importance on intelligence, curiosity, common sense, extracurricular activities, internships and volunteer work.
Meet other full-time students here.
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The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a computer adaptive test intended to assess certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal and reading skills in written English for use in admission to a graduate management program, such as an MBA program.
The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the U.S. and Canada. Much like the SAT and ACT, the GRE is a broad assessment of critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning skills.
There is no preference for which test you take.
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Deadline to apply is June 30, 2023. We will not review applications until after this deadline, and you can expect to hear our decision in early August.
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There is a $200 application fee. This fee is waived for Rice students or if you attend one of our events.
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Deposits:
Once accepted, there is only a $1,000 non-refundable deposit. Once enrolled, there is an additional $1,500 deposit that must be paid in January of your year of enrollment. Both deposits will be applied towards the tuition.
Tuition:
You pay the Full-Time MBA tuition starting the year you enroll. The current academic year Full-Time MBA tuition is $63,500 (per year).
Financial aid and scholarships are available. At the time of admission to our Deferred Enrollment program, we evaluate you for a baseline scholarship. When you decide to start our Full-Time MBA program in 2-5 years, based on your experience and achievements, you will be re-evaluated for an additional scholarship award. Through the generous support of our donors, Rice Business was able to provide merit-based scholarships to over 75% of our Full-Time MBA cohort in 2020-2021 with the average award covering over 50% of tuition costs. An MBA from Rice Business is an investment that will pay dividends throughout your career. See Rice Business Professor James Weston explain why.
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You may choose to enroll in the Full-Time MBA program as early as two years after graduation or up to five years after graduation. Admitted students will need to maintain full-time employment until they enter the Rice MBA program. Our recruiting and admissions team will connect with you to learn about your employment and discuss when you would like to enroll.
