Profile
- A private university of nearly 11,000 students near the center of Dallas, SMU offers strong undergraduate, graduate and professional programs through seven schools — in the humanities and sciences; business; the performing, visual and communication arts; engineering; education and human development; law and theology.
- SMU is ranked 56th in U.S. News & World Report's list of best national universities.
- Students come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and approximately 90 foreign countries and represent diverse economic, ethnic and religious backgrounds.
- SMU itself is a gateway to the global community, offering access to 145 education abroad programs as well as a unique campus in Northern New Mexico on the site of a historic fort and 13th-century Indian pueblo.
- SMU’s Cox School of Business and Meadows School of the Arts are listed in Parade magazine's 2010 College A-List.
- The University's 10 libraries house the largest private collection of research materials in the Southwest.
- The internationally acclaimed Meadows Museum houses one of the finest collections of Spanish art outside of Spain and presents outstanding special exhibitions and educational programming for youth and adults.
- As part of SMU's focus on leadership, the Tate Distinguished Lecture Series and Hart Global Leaders Forum bring national and world leaders to campus for lectures and interaction with students.
- SMU is one of the few universities to have a voting student member of its Board of Trustees. Nearly 200 campus organizations provide opportunities for involvement.
- Founded in 1911 by what is now The United Methodist Church, SMU opened in 1915 with support from Dallas leaders. The University is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to freedom of inquiry.
Academic Offerings
SMU is a private, comprehensive university offering 123 undergraduate degrees and 127 graduate and professional degrees, including 25 doctorates. The University has seven degree-granting schools:
- Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences
- Meadows School of the Arts
- Edwin L. Cox School of Business
- Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering
- Dedman School of Law
- Perkins School of Theology
- Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development
SMU also offers courses through numerous continuing education programs.
- SMU has several centers and institutes focused on diverse and interdisciplinary subjects. They include the John G. Tower Center for Political Studies, the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship and the Institute for Evidence-Based Education.
Academic Profile and Rankings
- SMU is ranked 56th in U.S. News & World Report's list of best national universities.
- Cox School of Business is ranked #12 in BusinessWeek's list of the best full-time business schools. The Cox School is also consistently recognized as a leader in business education by such publications as Forbes, The Economist, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and U.S. News & World Report.
- Recent graduates include Fulbright Scholars, a Marshall Scholar and a Truman Scholar.
- Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values Charles Curran was named to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010. Henderson-Morrison Professor of Prehistory David Meltzer was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2009.
Libraries and Special Collections
The University’s 10 libraries house the largest private collection of research materials in the Southwest, with nearly three million volumes. Among them:
- Fondren Library, SMU’s largest library, with nearly two million volumes.
- Bridwell Library, housing one of the nation’s finest research collections in theology and religious studies and outstanding collections of rare books, Bibles and manuscripts.
- Underwood Law Library, the largest private law library in the Southwest, serving SMU’s Dedman School of Law and the North Texas legal community.
- DeGolyer Library, devoted to Western Americana, Texana, the U.S./Mexico borderlands and railroad and business history. DeGolyer was named one of the most important public holders of Western American books and manuscripts in The New Encyclopedia of the American West. Its collections include the Archives of Women of the Southwest and collections of JC Penney, Stanley Marcus and Texas Instruments.
- Hamon Arts Library, housing materials relevant to the visual, performing and communication arts in support of Meadows School of the Arts. Its archives include the G. William Jones Film and Video Collection and the Jerry Bywaters Special Collections.
- The Business Information Center in Cox School of Business, providing specialized business research resources and innovative information technology solutions.
Location
- SMU is located five miles north of downtown Dallas near the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and Mockingbird Lane, a few blocks from a light rail station.
- The SMU main campus includes 90 buildings on 230 acres.
- SMU-in-Plano, located north of Dallas in Collin County, includes four buildings on 25 acres.
- SMU-in-Taos, a 295-acre campus with 26 buildings in Northern New Mexico, includes an excavation site of a 13th-century Indian pueblo.
Enrollment — Fall 2010
- Of the 10,938 students enrolled for the 2010 fall term, 6,192 are undergraduates and 4,746 are graduate and professional students.
- Nearly all of the students in SMU’s first class came from Dallas County, but now 48 percent of undergraduates come from outside Texas.
- In a typical year, students come to SMU from every state and the District of Columbia, from 90 foreign countries and from all races, religions and economic levels. Minority students make up 22.58 percent of the current total student body, which is an all-time high.
- The new first-year class is the largest ever at 1,479. The previous high was 1,466 in 1969. Texas students represent 46 percent of the first-year class. Minority students make up 26.2 percent of the class.
Students
- In fall 2009, nearly 76 percent of first-year students received financial assistance.
- Among students reporting a religious affiliation, 25 percent are Catholic and 20 percent are Methodist. Also represented are other Protestant denominations and religions such as Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.
- About 600 students participate each year in 145 education abroad programs offered in 48 countries throughout Europe and in Asia, Australia, Africa, Mexico and Central and South America.
- More than 2,500 student volunteers serve annually through approximately 70 nonprofit agencies. Students also participate in Alternative Winter and Spring Break service projects throughout the United States. The SMU Service House is home to 28 student volunteers.
- SMU is one of the few universities in the nation to have a voting student member on its Board of Trustees.
- Nearly 200 campus organizations provide opportunities for student involvement and leadership training.
Faculty
- SMU has 660 full-time faculty members.
- 84 percent of full-time faculty hold the doctorate or highest degree in their fields.
The student-faculty ratio is 11-to-1.
Alumni
- SMU has more than 110,000 alumni worldwide, nearly 40,000 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
- Prominent alumni include Nobel Prize-winning physicist James Cronin; former First Lady Laura Bush; former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Antonio O. Garza, Jr.; computer memory pioneer Robert Dennard; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley; Olympic gold medal swimmers Lars Frolander, Steve Lundquist and Ryan Berube; the late Payne Stewart, championship golfer; and the late Doak Walker, Heisman Trophy recipient.
Financial Support
- SMU’s endowment was $1.07 billion as of June 2010.
- In September 2008 SMU launched "SMU Unbridled: The Second Century Campaign," the largest fund-raising campaign in the University's history, with a goal of $750 million. Gifts to date have exceeded $452 million. The campaign has provided funds for 211 new scholarships; 17 new endowed academic positions; 12 new institutes, centers and other academic initiatives; support for two schools and one academic department; and 13 new or renovated facilities.
Athletics
- SMU is the only Division I athletic program in Dallas. The University joined Conference USA in July 2005.
- SMU has been ranked as the top school in its conference for 11 of the past 13 years in the Directors' Cup Division I overall athletic rankings.
- Seven of SMU's 15 athletic programs scored a perfect 100 percent in the NCAA Graduation Success Rates for 2010, and all 15 SMU programs were equal to or better than the national average.
- In 2009 the SMU football team won the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Championship and a Conference USA Western Division Co-Championship.
- SMU boasts four former National Coaches Of The Year - June Jones, Matt Doherty, Steve Collins and Jim Stillson.