Southern Methodist University Overview
Southern Methodist University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Dallas, Texas. SMU is located in a safe and convenient suburb.
What Is Southern Methodist University Known For?
- The student loan default rate at SMU is 2%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
- The highest award offered at SMU is the doctor's degree.
- In 2019-2020, 68% of the faculty were full-time.
- After graduation, SMU bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $72,514 a year. That's about 78% more than their peers at other schools.
- It takes the average SMU student 4.1 years to graduate. This is pretty good when compared to the national rate of 4.4 years.
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Southern Methodist University Rankings
According to our 2023 analysis, SMU is ranked #98 out of 2,018 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This lands it a coveted spot in the top 5% of all colleges and universities in the country. Out of the 107 colleges in Texas, it is ranked at #5.
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 |
---|---|---|
#68 | Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#81 | Best Master’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.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards SMU has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#9 | Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools | College Factual |
#11 | Best Engineering Technologies Schools | College Factual |
#31 | Best Computer Science Schools | Computer Science Degree |
#34 | Best Communication & Journalism Schools | College Factual |
#46 | Best Psychology Schools | College Factual |
#64 | Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools | College Factual |
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: https://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?
Approximately 48% of accepted students are men and 52% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 53%, and the acceptance rate for women is 52%.
Average Test Scores
About 40% 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 620 and 740.
Can I Afford Southern Methodist University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At SMU, approximately 23% of students took out student loans averaging $11,378 a year. That adds up to $45,512 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at SMU is 2.1%. 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 also 5,546 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 6,616 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 | 534 |
Black or African American | 307 |
Hispanic or Latino | 828 |
White | 4,229 |
International Students | 377 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 341 |
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
The following chart shows how the online learning population at SMU has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 12th most popular in Texas for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.
Online Affordability Rankings of SMU
During the most recent year for which we have data, the full-time undergraduate tuition at Southern Methodist University was $58,540 for both in-state and out-of-state students. The following table shows how SMU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.
Major | Tuition for In-State Students | Tuition for Out-of-State Students |
---|---|---|
Electronics Engineering Technology | #4 | #4 |
Operations Research | #10 | #10 |
Real Estate | #16 | #16 |
Computer Systems Analysis | #16 | #16 |
Sustainability Science | #22 | #22 |
Manufacturing Engineering | #25 | #25 |
Environmental Engineering | #31 | #31 |
Natural Resources Conservation | #40 | #40 |
Systems Engineering | #43 | #43 |
Other Engineering | #47 | #47 |
Entrepreneurial Studies | #47 | #47 |
Natural Resources & Conservation | #58 | #58 |
Civil Engineering | #70 | #70 |
Computer Science | #70 | #70 |
Online Growth Rankings of SMU
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Southern Methodist University was 136.5%. This is the #350 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 |
---|---|
Electrical Engineering | 30% |
General Engineering | 60% |
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods | 71% |
Manufacturing Engineering | 44% |
Systems Engineering | 37% |
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.
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.
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.
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