Southern Methodist University Overview

Southern Methodist University is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Dallas, Texas. SMU is located in a safe and convenient suburb.

What Is Southern Methodist University Known For?

• The 3% student loan default rate at SMU is better than the national rate of 10.1%. That's a good sign that you may be able to pay off student loans easier than your peers at other schools can.
• The highest award offered at SMU is the doctor's degree.
• For the 2017-2018 academic year, 68% of the faculty were full-time.
• Students who graduate from SMU with a bachelor's degree make about $60,700 a year. That's 49% more than those who graduate from other schools.
• The average SMU student graduates in 4.1 years. That's better than the national average of 4.4 years.

Southern Methodist University Rankings

We have ranked SMU as #212 out of 2,320 colleges and universities in the country in our 2021 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. It is also ranked #15 out of 159 schools in Texas.

These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.

SMU has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#38	Best Graduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#79	Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#96	Most Popular Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#159	Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#286	Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at SMU.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#2	Best Arts & Media Management Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#2	Best Health & Physical Education Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#3	Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#5	Best Writing Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#6	Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#7	Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#16	Best Finance & Financial Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#21	Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#28	Best Business, Management & Marketing Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#28	Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards SMU has earned from around the web.

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#2	Best Colleges for Health & Physical Education	College Factual
#10	Best Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities	College Factual
#19	Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies	College Factual
#26	Best Colleges for Communication & Journalism	College Factual
#28	Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing	College Factual
#56	Best Business Schools	Business Degree Central

Where Is Southern Methodist University?

Contact details for SMU are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	6425 Boaz St, Dallas, TX 75275-0221
Phone:	214-768-2000
Website:	www.smu.edu
Facebook:	http://facebook.com/smudallas
Twitter:	http://twitter.com/smu

How Do I Get Into SMU?

You can apply to SMU online at: www.smu.edu/Admission/Apply

Admission Requirements for SMU

Submission	Required?
High School GPA	required
High School Rank	recommended
High School Transcript	required
College Prep Program	required
Recommendations	required
SAT or ACT Scores	required
TOEFL	required

How Hard Is It To Get Into SMU?

You'll need to do what you can to make your application stand out if you plan to apply to SMU. The school screens its applicants carefully and has a fairly low acceptance rate of 49%. So, don't just throw your admission packet together at the last minute!

Approximately 47% of accepted students are men and 53% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 50%, and the acceptance rate for women is 48%.

Average Test Scores

About 36% of students accepted to SMU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 630 and 710. Math scores were between 640 and 730.

SMU received ACT scores from 72% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 28 and 34. Math scores were between 27 and 31. Composite scores were between 28 and 32.

Can I Afford Southern Methodist University?

The overall average net price of SMU is $54,960. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At SMU, approximately 25% of students took out student loans averaging $9,927 a year. That adds up to $39,708 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at SMU is 2.7%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

Southern Methodist University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 6,710 undergraduate students at SMU, with 6,519 being full-time and 191 being part-time.

There are also 5,114 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 6,519 full-time undergraduates at SMU, 51% are male and 49% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Southern Methodist University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	465
Black or African American	287
Hispanic or Latino	783
White	4,210
International Students	471
Other Races/Ethnicities	303

Geographic Diversity

Texas students aren't the only ones who study at Southern Methodist University. At this time, 43 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 99 countries are represented at SMU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Online Learning at Southern Methodist University

In 2017-2018, 1,104 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at SMU has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 26th most popular in Texas for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2017-2018.

Online Growth Rankings of SMU

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Southern Methodist University was 24.4%. This is the #802 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at SMU regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of SMU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major	1-Year Growth Rate
Civil Engineering	31%
Computer & Information Sciences	21%
Computer Engineering	6%
Computer Science	40%
Entrepreneurial Studies	11%
Environmental Engineering	42%
Information Science	7%
Manufacturing Engineering	38%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at SMU ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at SMU.

Major	Growth Rate Rank
Operations Research	#2
Manufacturing Engineering	#2
Environmental Engineering	#3
Sustainability Science	#3
Other Engineering	#3
Electronics Engineering Technology	#4
Natural Resources Conservation	#4
Systems Engineering	#5
Natural Resources & Conservation	#5
Computer Engineering	#7
Mechanical Engineering	#7
Civil Engineering	#9
Electrical Engineering	#12
Engineering-Related Fields	#13
Computer Science	#17
Engineering	#23
Engineering Technologies	#28
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies	#40
Computer & Information Sciences	#86

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

Southern Methodist University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major	Bachelor’s	Graduate Certificate	Master’s	Doctor’s	TOTAL
Finance & Financial Management	256	0	102	0	358
Law	0	0	0	272	272
Business Administration & Management	68	0	170	0	238
Economics	185	0	22	2	209
Accounting	98	0	92	0	190
Other Education	0	0	128	3	131
Computer Science	52	0	75	2	129
Information Science	0	0	117	0	117
Public Relations & Advertising	97	0	8	0	105
Health & Physical Education	79	0	19	0	98
Marketing	69	0	27	0	96
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	0	0	94	0	94
Mathematics	93	0	0	0	93
General Biology	85	0	3	2	90
General Psychology	82	0	5	0	87
Mechanical Engineering	63	0	16	5	84
Theological & Ministerial Studies	0	0	63	21	84
Graphic Communications	0	45	37	0	82
Liberal Arts General Studies	43	3	34	2	82
Electrical Engineering	27	0	44	7	78
Music	26	17	35	0	78
Electronics Engineering Technology	0	0	72	0	72
Entrepreneurial Studies	0	0	71	0	71
Educational Administration	0	0	53	15	68
Real Estate	27	0	38	0	65
Applied Mathematics	0	0	65	0	65
Operations Research	45	0	14	1	60
Statistics	31	0	27	2	60
Mental & Social Health Services	0	0	53	0	53
Legal Research	0	0	50	2	52
Engineering-Related Fields	0	0	45	1	46
Political Science & Government	46	0	0	0	46
Systems Engineering	0	0	42	0	42
Communication & Media Studies	39	0	0	0	39
Manufacturing Engineering	0	0	39	0	39
Journalism	38	0	0	0	38
Fine & Studio Arts	29	0	8	1	38
Computer Engineering	8	0	25	2	35
Romance Languages	33	0	0	0	33
Computer Systems Analysis	0	0	32	0	32
Civil Engineering	16	0	12	1	29
Public Policy	28	0	0	0	28
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution	0	3	24	0	27
Environmental Engineering	13	0	13	0	26
History	21	0	3	1	25
General English Literature	19	0	2	3	24
Philosophy	24	0	0	0	24
Taxation	0	0	22	0	22
Other Health Professions	22	0	0	0	22
Anthropology	12	0	3	7	22
Drama & Theater Arts	19	0	3	0	22
Teacher Education Subject Specific	6	0	14	0	20
Chemistry	16	0	1	3	20
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	17	0	2	0	19
Multilingual Education	0	0	18	0	18
Geological & Earth Sciences	9	0	5	4	18
Religious Studies	11	0	1	4	16
Sociology	15	0	0	0	15
Other Engineering	0	0	14	0	14
Arts & Media Management	0	0	13	0	13
International Studies	12	0	0	0	12
Dance	11	0	0	0	11
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	10	0	0	0	10
General Education	9	0	0	0	9
Design & Applied Arts	9	0	0	0	9
Natural Resources Conservation	8	0	0	0	8
Information Technology	0	0	7	0	7
Sustainability Science	0	0	7	0	7
Area Studies	5	0	0	0	5
Physics	3	0	2	0	5
Health & Medical Administrative Services	0	4	0	0	4
Health Sciences & Services	0	0	4	0	4
Writing Studies	3	0	0	0	3
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics	0	0	0	2	2
Special Education	0	0	2	0	2
General Engineering	0	0	1	1	2
Germanic Languages	2	0	0	0	2
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	2	0	0	0	2
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology	0	0	0	2	2
Sacred Music	0	0	2	0	2
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	1	0	0	0	1
Insurance	0	0	0	0	0
Management Information Systems	0	0	0	0	0
Engineering Science	0	0	0	0	0
Ethnic Studies	0	0	0	0	0
Housing	0	0	0	0	0
East Asian Languages	0	0	0	0	0
Medieval Studies	0	0	0	0	0
General Social Sciences	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	1,942	72	1,900	368	4,282

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Image Credit: By Jeffrey Beall under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.