The RBPC is the world’s premiere graduate-level student startup competition, and will be held April 9-11, 2026, at Rice University in Houston, Texas. 42 graduate student-led, early-stage companies will be invited to pitch their business ventures and vie for over $1 million in prizes.
This year we are offering a unique webinar for academic advisors and entrepreneurship directors to learn more about applying to the 2026 RBPC:
Thursday, November 20
4:00 – 4:45 PM CST
Special Guest – Anne Perigo, University of Michigan (academic advisor to 2025 RBPC 1st place winner Intero Biosystems)
Register for webinar HERE
The competition, now in its 26th year, is designed to give collegiate entrepreneurs the real-world opportunity to present their startups to investors, receive mentoring, network within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, enhance their business strategy, and learn what it takes to launch a successful company. There are many benefits to competing; get a sense of the event from our RBPC 2025 recap!
Eligible startups will meet the following initial criteria:
be student-driven, student-created and/or student-managed
have at least two current student founders or management team members, and at least one of those students is a current graduate degree-seeking student (PhD, MA, MS, MBA, etc.)
have not raised more than $250,000 in equity capital prior to July 1, 2025
be seeking funding or capital (or will be in the next 12 months)
be a viable investment opportunity
The deadline for submissions is Saturday, January 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM CST.
Complete information, including application, eligibility requirements, competition format and general guidelines, is here: https://rbpc.rice.edu/.
We also offer info session webinars designed specifically for your student startups:
November 13 at 4:00 PM CST
December 11 at 4:00 PM CST
Students can register for these webinars on the FAQ page of the RBPC website; the webinars will be recorded and uploaded to the RBPC website later that day.
Please let your student entrepreneurs know about this opportunity; they are welcome to contact me with questions at rbpc@rice.edu or stay up to date with news by filling out the “Stay Up To Date” short form on the "About” page of the RBPC website.
Bring on 2026 and thank you very much!
Best regards,
Catherine Santamaria
Director, Rice Business Plan Competition
Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship
