Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business

Administers Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business through the Rice Business Plan Competition and entrepreneurship pathways.

Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business is Rice University’s business school in Houston, founded in 1975 and home to more than 10,000 graduate alumni worldwide. Through the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, it administers the Rice Business Plan Competition, a long-running entrepreneurship platform that sits at the center of the school’s public-facing innovation work.

The competition is built around prizes rather than open-ended grants. In 2026 it marks its 25th anniversary, brings together 42 teams from a field of 400+ annual applicants, and distributes more than $1.5 million in cash and prizes. The top award is a $200,000 investment, with additional capital and in-kind support tied to energy, cleantech, hard tech, healthcare, space tech, and other startup categories.

The school’s edge is its combination of academic business training, investor access, and a prize structure that helps graduate founders move from pitch to diligence. It is strongest for student-led ventures that can show a clear business case, a credible team, and traction that fits an investor-facing competition in Houston.