Frequently Asked Questions

An increasing number of top universities offer undergraduate business programs. The recent growth in the Jones School’s faculty, along with the university’s plans to increase the size of the undergraduate student population, make it an opportune time to launch a business major at Rice.

The business major is similar to majors offered by the non-professional schools at Rice, especially those in the social sciences. Students apply to and are admitted to Rice University (not into the business school), and take the majority of their coursework outside the business school. The major requires 47-50 credit hours and as many as 18 of these credit hours can be taken in other departments such as economics, mathematics and statistics. Most of the remaining 120 credit hours required for graduation are also taken outside the business school. Students majoring in business can therefore still experience the broad-based liberal arts education that Rice is known for. The primary difference is simply that their major area of study is business.

The business major has three types of courses: foundational courses, such as calculus, statistics, and economics; core courses that mirror a typical first-year MBA curriculum; and concentration courses that allow students to develop expertise in a specific business discipline (finance or management). The complete set of course requirements is listed here.

Yes, the business minor program will continue and none of the coursework required to complete the minor will change. 

The business major builds on the minor. (Five of the courses are required in both programs.)  The major has a higher level mathematics and statistics requirement, additional required courses in management accounting and operations management, and students earn a concentration in finance or management by taking advanced courses. See here for a comparison of the business major and minor. 

The major is for students who want to focus their undergraduate studies on business while the minor is for students who want a coherent but limited business program to complement their major program of study outside the business school.

The business major officially begins in the fall of 2021. Five of the courses in the existing business minor, as well as ECON 100, MATH 101 and STAT 310, which students may have already taken, will count toward the business major. We will begin introducing some of the new courses in the major starting in 2021-22.

The business major was designed for incoming students and current Rice students who will graduate in 2024 or later.  Any undergraduate student admitted to Rice can pursue the degree or transfer out of the degree similar to majors offered by the non-professional schools at Rice.  Learn more about how to declare a major here. 

The program is available to students who will graduate in or after 2024 but not to students who will graduate earlier. The school will introduce 14 new courses over the next three years to create the full set of course offerings for the major. We will add approximately 3 or 4 of these courses per year. Students graduating in 2024 will have access to the full set of course offerings by the time they graduate. Students graduating prior to 2024 will not have access to some of the courses required to complete the major and will not be able to obtain credit for courses not yet offered.

Although the full set of courses needed to complete the major will not be available before 2023-24, students who will graduate earlier can benefit from taking several new business courses in the next two years. In 2021-22, we will introduce new courses in financial statement analysis, derivatives, business and society and power, influence and organizational change (see here for a table showing courses to be offered in fall 2021 and spring 2022).  In 2022-23, we expect to add at least one more advanced course in finance and/or management and possibly a new course in operations management and/or managerial accounting. 

There is no cap on the number of students who can complete the business major. Some sections of courses in the major may be oversubscribed from time to time. In such cases, the school will use a weighted lottery to determine which students can register, like it currently does for the business minor. The lottery gives greater priority to students who have completed more courses in the minor and/or major and who are closer to graduation but does not give priority based on whether a student has declared the minor and/or major.

Yes, students can earn a double major by satisfying the requirements for both majors. Students pursuing the finance major concentration can use two economics courses toward the business major, making it easier to double major in economics. Students also have the option of earning a dual degree (i.e., a second four-year bachelor’s degree). More information about double majors and dual degrees is available here.  Students cannot earn a major concentration in both finance and management because they are not substantially different degree programs (i.e., as few as only three additional courses).  But students are free to take as many courses in their non-major concentration as they want.

Yes, Rice offers a one-year Master of Accounting (“MAcc”) degree that students can enter after completing their bachelor’s degree in business or any other Rice major.

We’re so glad you’re interested in applying to Rice. The university does not have a separate admissions process for the business major.  Applicants interested in business should follow the general application requirements found here.  Please select business as your area of interest.  Any student admitted to Rice can pursue the major even if business was not selected as your area of interest in your application.  Once at Rice, students declare a major by completing a declaration form, which is normally done any time up to or during the spring semester of their second year at Rice.  Students can also change their major by completing a change of major form.

There are no specific eligibility requirements to declare the major other than the university's general requirements. There is no GPA requirement. Any undergraduate student admitted to Rice who will graduate in 2024 or later can pursue the degree or transfer out of the degree, similar to majors offered by the non-professional schools at Rice.

Yes, transfer students admitted to Rice can declare the business major. Please visit here for Rice’s general policies regarding transfer credits.  No more than 3 courses (9 credit hours) of transfer credit may apply toward the business major and transfer credit is granted only for courses equivalent to those currently offered in the major.

Current Rice students can contact academic advising aadv@rice.edu for advice about their academic course plans, which courses to take for the business major or minor, and pathways to majors and declaring the business major.  Current students can contact business.major@rice.edu for more specific questions about the business major or minor programs.

Prospective students can contact Rice admissions admission@rice.edu for questions about admission to Rice University (and its business programs) and for general information about the undergraduate business programs offered at Rice.  Prospective students can contact business.major@rice.edu for more specific questions about the business major or minor programs.