Rice Business

What Rice Business does

Rice Business (Jones Graduate School of Business) is the business school of Rice University, founded in 1974 and headquartered at 6100 Main Street in Houston, Texas. The school delivers graduate and undergraduate business education across five MBA formats — Full-Time (~160-180 students per cohort, ~$60,000+ annual tuition), Professional MBA (evening and weekend, ~180 students), Hybrid MBA (~60 students, monthly on-campus plus online), Executive MBA (~60 seasoned executives averaging 16 years of experience, with personal executive coach), and Online MBA@Rice (~120 students, less than 10% in-person intensives with Global Field Experience) — alongside a 10-month Master of Accounting, a Ph.D. in Business with concentrations in Accounting, Finance, Operations Management, Organizational Behavior, and Strategic Management, and the Virani Undergraduate School of Business (named in 2024 after a philanthropic gift from Farid and Asha Virani). Supporting instructional assets include the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (3,300+ companies and 220+ programs over 23 years), the Rice Business Finance Center (with the Fixed Income Fund managed by MBA students), and the Center for Customer-Based Execution and Strategy (C-CUBES), with content disseminated through the Rice Business Wisdom platform and the Owl Have You Know podcast.

Name

Rice Business

Legal name

Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business

Website

https://business.rice.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Rice Business is Rice University's graduate business school in Houston, Texas, founded in 1974. It offers five MBA formats (Full-Time, Professional, Hybrid, Executive, Online), plus Master of Accounting, Ph.D., undergraduate degrees, and Executive Education to students and corporate clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business School Education

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

MBA & Executive MBA Programs (EDAHAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Executive Education & Corporate Programs (Non-degree) (EDAHAHAN), Marketing, Branding & Sales Skills (EDAMAHAG)

Keywords

• Graduate business education
• MBA degree programs
• Executive education
• Doctoral business programs
• Business school programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Degree Program Tuition: Tuition-based revenue model where students pay tuition for degree programs including Full-Time MBA (60 credits), Professional MBA (54 credits), Executive MBA (54 credits), Hybrid MBA (54 credits), Online MBA (54 credits), Master of Accounting, Ph.D. programs, and Undergraduate programs. Programs have varying tuition rates per credit or total program cost.
2. Executive Education Programs: Executive Education programs including open enrollment programs (Rice Advanced Management Program, Customer-Centric Strategy, Executive Leadership for Women, Paris Global Leadership Program, Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers, The Leadership Accelerator, Leading Organizational Change, Leading Innovation, Driving Growth through AI and Digital Transformation, Energy Transition Strategy, Executive Presence and Strategic Influence, The Management Incubator, From Business Intelligence to Artificial Intelligence) and custom corporate programs.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels10 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Rice Business delivers graduate business education through the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, offering multiple MBA formats (Full-Time, Professional Evening, Hybrid, Executive, and Online MBA@Rice), a Master of Accounting, Ph.D. in Business, undergraduate business programs through the Virani Undergraduate School of Business, and Executive Education programs. The portfolio is supported by centers such as the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, dedicated career coaching, and experiential learning tied to Houston's energy, healthcare, and technology industries.

Product overview

Rice Business (Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University) offers a comprehensive portfolio of graduate and undergraduate business education programs. The institution provides multiple MBA delivery formats including Full-Time MBA, Professional MBA (evening and weekend), Hybrid MBA (monthly on-campus plus online), Executive MBA, and Online MBA (MBA@Rice). Supporting degree programs include the Master of Accounting (MAcc), Ph.D. in Business, and Virani Undergraduate School of Business. Professional development is delivered through Executive Education open enrollment and custom programs. The school also operates specialized centers including the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Center for Customer-Based Execution & Strategy (C-CUBES), and Rice Business Finance Center. Knowledge dissemination occurs through the Rice Business Wisdom platform and the Owl Have You Know podcast. All MBA programs share the same core curriculum, faculty, and access to electives while differing in delivery format and schedule.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full-Time MBA Two-year residential MBA program at Rice Business for early-career professionals seeking a general management credential with an entrepreneurship, energy, and finance focus.
• Professional MBA
• Hybrid MBA
• Executive MBA
• MBA@Rice (Online MBA)
• Master of Accounting (MAcc)
• Ph.D. in Business
• Virani Undergraduate School of Business Programs
• Executive Education (Open Enrollment)
• Executive Education (Custom Corporate Programs)
• Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management
• Coordinated and Dual Degree Programs
• MBA Deferred Enrollment Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates report high career advancement with investment banking, consulting, and tech roles at top companies
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Service to School (S2S)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Rice Business has partnered with Service to School (S2S), a national nonprofit that helps veterans and service members access higher education. This partnership adds a new admissions and outreach partner to the school's growing ecosystem of support for military-affiliated students, expanding opportunities for veterans seeking graduate business education.
• Peruvian Retail and Credit Card CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Rice Business researchers conducted a study in partnership with a Peruvian company that operates both retail and credit card businesses. The study showed retail shopping data can serve as an alternative credit score for the unbanked, raising credit card approval rates from 15.5% to 47.8%.
• Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and EntrepreneurshipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Liu Idea Lab serves as Rice's on-campus hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. The flexible, modern learning center and workspace prepares Rice Business students to become innovators in tech startups, government agencies, civic groups, nonprofits, small businesses, or large corporations. Hosts the annual H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge.
• Farid and Asha ViranicoreOthers · 1 January 2021Houston philanthropists Farid and Asha Virani made a transformative gift to Rice Business, leading to the naming of the undergraduate program as the Virani Undergraduate School of Business in 2024. Their generosity is fueling new opportunities for students through enhanced curricula, expanded co-curricular experiences and a dedicated associate dean.
• The Ion (Houston Innovation District)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The Ion is a 266,000-square foot structure in the center of Houston Innovation District, fostering a community and culture where corporate innovators, academic partners, community partners, startups, and entrepreneurs come together to solve world problems. Rice Business participates as academic partner in this innovation ecosystem.
• Baylor College of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Rice University offers a dual degree program pairing the Rice Full-Time MBA with a medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine (MD/MBA program), preparing physician-leaders with both clinical and business expertise.
• Rice Alliance for Technology and EntrepreneurshipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is a catalyst for building successful tech ventures, linking the Rice Business community to Houston's vibrant startup scene. Over the past 23 years, more than 3,300 companies have participated in over 220 Rice Alliance programs.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Babson College (F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business): Long-standing rival in the entrepreneurship education niche and frequent co-competitor in Princeton Review's Graduate Entrepreneurship rankings. Comparable MBA and graduate certificate offerings targeted at aspiring founders.
• McCombs School of Business (University of Texas at Austin): The leading MBA program in Texas and the most direct competitor in the same Houston-vs-Austin market. Operates Full-Time, Professional (Evening/Weekend), Executive, and Online MBA formats with similar tuition structure and similar audience of Texas-based professionals.
• Mays Business School (Texas A&M University): Another in-state Texas peer offering Full-Time, Professional, and Executive MBA programs plus MAcc, PhD, and undergraduate business programs. Directly competes with Rice for the same Texas executive education and graduate business applicant pool.
• Olin Business School (Washington University in St. Louis): Comparable-sized private university business school offering Full-Time, Professional (Evening/Weekend), Executive, and Online MBAs plus MAcc and PhD programs with similar cohort scale. A useful structural benchmark for tuition, format strategy, and ranking dynamics.
• Kelley School of Business (Indiana University): A peer multi-format MBA program with well-established Online MBA, Professional MBA, and Executive MBA offerings. A useful comparative benchmark for Online MBA growth strategy and working-professional part-time formats.

Broad incumbents

• The Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania): Top-tier MBA competitor and operator of one of the most successful online MBA programs. Relevant comparable for the premium tuition business model and for the strategic risk of online-format scaling.
• Harvard Business School: Largest incumbent in U.S. graduate business education and the dominant force behind HBS Online. Sets the standard for the MBA credential and online business education that Rice Business must differentiate against.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business: Top-tier global MBA competitor and a leader in entrepreneurship/venture education. While much larger in scale, Stanford sets the bar in rankings and startup-network depth that Rice Business benchmarks against for entrepreneurial positioning.
• Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University): Larger full-time and evening/weekend MBA program operating from Evanston with evening part-time options similar to Rice Professional MBA. A direct structural peer in multi-format MBA delivery and a frequent co-competitor for working-professional applicants.

Regional players

• Bauer College of Business (University of Houston): Local Houston-based AACSB business school offering Full-Time, Professional, Executive, and Online MBAs plus MAcc. Directly competes for Houston-resident prospective students and local corporate Executive Education budgets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Rice_Biz
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ricebusiness
• Facebookfacebook.com/BusinessRice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rice-business
• Instagraminstagram.com/rice_business
• TikToktiktok.com/@ricebusiness

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rice Business