Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business


Located on a 285-acre wooded campus, The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business is the business school of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Named in honor of Jesse Holman Jones, a Houston business and civic leader, the school received its initial funding in 1974 through a major gift from the Houston Endowment Inc., a philanthropic foundation established by Jones and his wife, Mary Gibbs Jones. The Jones School is distinguished by its foundation in accounting, finance, marketing, organizational behavior and management with areas of excellence in energy, entrepreneurship and health care. Degree programs include the Rice Master of Business Administration, MBA@Rice, MBA for Executives, MBA for Professionals, and Master of Accounting. In addition, the school offers several joint degree programs, including the MD/MBA with Baylor College of Medicine, MBA/ME with Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering, and MBA/MS with Rice’s Wiess School of Natural Sciences. A Ph.D. in Business — in marketing, finance, strategic management, and accounting — attracts candidates aspiring to become faculty at business schools in prestigious research universities internationally. The Jones School also provides an undergraduate business minor and full schedule of non-credit executive education open enrollment and customized courses for business and industry, along with certificates in finance and accounting, health care, and marketing.
The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is Rice's flagship entrepreneurship initiative based on a strategic alliance among the schools of engineering, science, and business. Since its inception in late 1999, the Rice Alliance has assisted in the launch of over 1,500 start-ups which have raised more than $2.9 billion in funding. The Rice Alliance is host to the Rice Business Plan Competition, the world's largest and richest student startup competition with nearly $3 million in prizes. The Rice Alliance was ranked No. 1 among top university business incubators in 2013 and 2014.

Jones School

MBA program

The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business offers a Master’s of Business Administration program. The program was ranked 23rd on the U.S. News and World Report's 2019 ranking of best graduate-level business schools.
At graduation, nearly 83% of graduates in the full-time program are employed.
Electives are offered in your second-year and a Capstone Course is required at the end of your second year.

Online MBA program

MBA@Rice is an online degree for working professionals that started in 2018. The program also added a number of short courses including project management. The program can be completed in two years with 54 credits required. Students have small-group online sessions and have access to pre-recorded content. There is also an on-campus component with two residential sessions.

Master of Accounting Program

The Master of Accounting program is an intensive, one-year program designed to prepare students for the Uniform CPA Exam. The program targets non-accounting undergraduate majors, and conditions students for recruitment with the Big 4 accounting firms.

Rankings

• Princeton Review 2020 ranks the Jones School #1 in the U.S. for M.B.A. in entrepreneurship, #3 for finance, and #8 for best classroom experience.

• U.S. News & World Report ranks the Jones School full-time MBA program among top 25 U.S business schools in 2016.

• Bloomberg Businessweek ranks the Jones School among top 10 U.S business schools in 2016 and the 3rd best part-time MBA in 2015.

• The Economist in 2009 ranks the Jones School 22nd among U.S. business schools – the highest ranked business school in Texas and the Southwest.

• The Financial Times 2014 ranks the Jones School 35 in Global Business Schools and 19th amongst U.S. business schools – the highest ranked business school in Texas and the Southwest.

• The 2009 Financial Times ranking of MBA for Executives programs ranks Rice the best in Texas and the southwest. Among U.S. schools Rice is ranked 11 of 42; its world ranking is 27 of 75.

• Top 10 in the World: Among the 100 global schools, the Jones School's finance program was ranked among the Top 10 in the world, Financial Times 2005.

• The 2004 Financial Times MBA for Executives rankings places the Rice EMBA program among the top ten schools in seven categories: top salaries in U.S.; most experienced students in U.S.; most sponsored students in U.S.; top salaries in consulting in the world; aims achieved in U.S.; women faculty in the U.S.; and women students in the U.S.

• Among U.S. schools, the Jones School ranked in the top ten in “number in jobs three months after graduation," The Economist 2004.

• Rice was ranked fifth in most competitive students, defined by the Princeton Review as: "How competitive classmates are, how heavy the workload is, and the perceived academic pressure," Princeton Review's guidebook, The Best 143 Business Schools.

• Princeton Review's 2004 guidebook, The Best 143 Business Schools ranked Rice 10th in greatest opportunity for women, defined as: "percentage of students who are women, percentage of faculty who are women, student assessment of resources for women students, how supportive the culture is of women students, whether the school offers coursework for women entrepreneurs, and whether case studies proportionately reflect women in business."

Notable alumni