Lyle School of Engineering

SMU’s School of Engineering, founded in 1925 and named in honor of Bobby B. Lyle in 2008, is committed to developing the new American engineer, one prepared to lead the way in creating new economic opportunities and addressing the most difficult challenges facing society and our planet. In addition to receiving the best technical training, our students are equipped with the skills to be strategic thinkers, effective communicators and innovators. The Lyle School also is devoted to developing the new ideas that will advance engineering and technology, and to implementing nationally significant educational and research programs that extend our impact beyond the campus.

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Centennial decade priorities

Student Quality

Increase scholarships to recruit and retain the most promising scholars

  • Increase endowments for undergraduate scholarships
  • Establish new graduate student fellowships

Faculty and Academic Excellence

Attract outstanding teachers and researchers and enhance academic programs, facilities and resources

  • Endow the School of Engineering and each of the school’s five departments
  • Enhance funding for new centers, institutes and initiatives focused on leadership, innovation and sustainability
  • Endow faculty positions, including the deanship
  • Endow professorships for younger faculty emerging as leaders in their academic disciplines
  • Construct a new, state-of-the-art Caruth Hall, the third building in the Lyle School’s entirely new and updated complex of facilities, with expanded lab space, the latest technology and environmentally sensitive design

Campus Experience

Improve and expand student services and programs

  • Provide students with greater internship and philanthropic service opportunities

Lyle School of Engineering at a Glance

The Lyle School of Engineering offers 20 undergraduate and 29 graduate degree options in five academic departments:

  • Computer Science and Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Management, Information and Systems
  • Environmental and Civil Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering

Centers, initiatives and institutes

  • The Center for Engineering Leadership – to foster the broad professional skills that engineers need to excel in the global market
  • The Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing – to promote and apply University-led research and development in manufacturing
  • Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® Lab at the Lyle School – to develop innovative solutions to complex real-world problems
  • A new international institute to develop and deploy sustainable, technology-based solutions for the global poor
  • The SMU Co-op Program – an accredited program celebrating more than 75 years of helping produce outstanding engineers for industry through effective employer-student partnerships. SMU co-op students are employed in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
  • Universitywide engineering and innovation minor for students pursuing nontechnical degrees
  • “Plugged In” – an executive news briefing for students on global and scientific issues
  • The Caruth Institute for Engineering Education – a federally funded institute to increase the quantity and quality of engineers in the United States. Institute programs include:
    • The Infinity Project – one of the nation’s leading middle school, high school and early college high-tech engineering education programs. The project provides professional development for teachers, excellent curricular materials for students and cutting-edge technology.
    • The Gender Parity Initiative – devoted to achieving parity in Lyle School engineering programs. The Lyle School is already a leader in educating female engineers, with an undergraduate female enrollment of 30 percent, well above the national average of 19 percent.
    • Visioneering – an annual event that brings 500 middle school students and their teachers to the SMU campus each spring for a day of serious fun, learning about engineering design from professional engineers
  • Engineering Leaders Master’s Series – an executive format Master’s or Certificate program geared for busy professionals
  • The Office of Contemporary Technology – offering continuing education to all engineering alumni

Facilities

The Lyle School is one of the few educational institutions in the United States with entirely new, state-of-the-art facilities. They include the Jerry R. Junkins Electrical Engineering Building, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold-certified J. Lindsay Embrey Engineering Building and the new Caruth Hall, also designed to meet LEED Gold-standard certification and currently under construction. With these three remarkable buildings, the Lyle School is demonstrating an unwavering commitment to providing an enhanced educational experience for the next generation of engineers.

Join Us

Be a part of defining the next 100 years of unbridled achievement at SMU. To get involved in The Second Century Campaign, call 214-768-4136 or e-mail engineeringgiving@smu.edu.