MBA applicants can get carried away with rankings. In this series, we profile amazing programs at business schools which are typically ranked outside the top 15.
Houston, Texas, home to six of the world’s “supermajor” energy companies, is perhaps an obvious choice for prospective MBA students looking to break into the energy sector. And the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University is arguably the leader in energy curriculum and recruiting. Offering 12 courses, including “Managing in a Carbon Constrained World,” “Geopolitics of Energy” and “International Energy Simulation,” the school’s energy concentration prepares students for successful careers in the ever-evolving industry by training them for varied functions that “meet the global challenges of the future of energy, from geopolitical, fiscal, and environmental perspectives.” As a result of strong recruiting ties to such companies as ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, well over a third of Rice’s MBAs (40% in 2012) land jobs in the petroleum/energy sector. The school also has an active Energy Club that hosts various opportunities to connect with recruiters and alumni, including an Energy Speaker series, networking events and Energy Treks that give students firsthand exposure to trading floors, drilling rigs and manufacturing facilities.