Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business

Rice University offers a strong university brand, and its partnership with 2U insures a high-quality digital learning experience. Class sizes are small with the average being just 13 students and the maximum at 20. Between weekly live classes via the Internet, you’ll complete assignments at a time that works best for you. Out of the required 52 credits to graduate, only 12 credit hours are devoted to elective studies. Coursework is designed specifically for an online audience, featuring interactive modules, videos, readings, discussion forums, and quizzes. Every student is assigned a “dedicated student success adviser” to nudge them when needed. That may be one reason why the program’s one-year retention rate is 100%, better than any other U.S. News top 10 programs.

There are also in-person learning experiences—hosted on campus in Houston—and global learning immersions—from business hubs around the globe—that allow you to take your education across both physical and cultural borders. These are relatively quick affairs. The Rice Core Residential, for example, is a four-day intensive learning experience where students get a taste of the culture of Rice and connect in person with peers, professors, and alumni. The program also offers career coaches for students, and for our more senior-level students, there are executive coaches available. Most students can complete the program in as little as two years, though they can also stretch the coursework out over as long as five years.

The program is divided into four 11-week-long terms per year (January, April, July, and October). Students generally start the program by taking three classes within a term, for a total of six credit hours.

“The main thing that makes…

Rice University offers a strong university brand, and its partnership with 2U insures a high-quality digital learning experience. Class sizes are small with the average being just 13 students and the maximum at 20. Between weekly live classes via the Internet, you’ll complete assignments at a time that works best for you. Out of the required 52 credits to graduate, only 12 credit hours are devoted to elective studies. Coursework is designed specifically for an online audience, featuring interactive modules, videos, readings, discussion forums, and quizzes. Every student is assigned a “dedicated student success adviser” to nudge them when needed. That may be one reason why the program’s one-year retention rate is 100%, better than any other U.S. News top 10 programs.

There are also in-person learning experiences—hosted on campus in Houston—and global learning immersions—from business hubs around the globe—that allow you to take your education across both physical and cultural borders. These are relatively quick affairs. The Rice Core Residential, for example, is a four-day intensive learning experience where students get a taste of the culture of Rice and connect in person with peers, professors, and alumni. The program also offers career coaches for students, and for our more senior-level students, there are executive coaches available. Most students can complete the program in as little as two years, though they can also stretch the coursework out over as long as five years.

The program is divided into four 11-week-long terms per year (January, April, July, and October). Students generally start the program by taking three classes within a term, for a total of six credit hours.

“The main thing that makes our program special here at Rice, our secret sauce, is we are a very small tight-knit community,” says Joanna Fortuna, admissions manager, in a recent Poets&Quants webinar. “So the number one thing they would say is the amount of individualized attention and the amount of actual connection that they got with their professors, with the dean, with the admissions staff, and the support team. One of the biggest worries of online students is, ‘Am I going to miss out on that piece?’ We are a very high touch, intimate community and we work hard to keep that.”

Rice cements those connections with a lot of guidance. “Students actually get someone who works hand in hand with them from onboarding and orientation all the way to graduation,” adds Fortuna. “So we have a built-in system to ensure our students are successful. They also have a dedicated online MBA support career services team because the needs of an online student are different from a student who is on campus.”

SCHOOLS TO CONSIDER:

Kelley Direct Online MBA

Carnegie Mellon University Tepper Online MBA

Michigan Ross Online MBA Program