Cox MS Advantage

We call it the Cox Advantage. You'll call it a rare and tremendous opportunity to achieve your career goals. No other business school in the nation offers the variety of degree programs combined with our level of corporate interaction and networking, innovative and up-to-date business training, and hands-on learning. 

  • Strategic Location: Dallas is a business, technology and cultural powerhouse with a strong, diverse economy and a high quality of life.
  • Small School Environment: An intimate and collaborative environment perfect for learning.
  • Strong Network: One of the strongest business school alumni networks in the world!
  • Innovative Spirit: SMU is a pioneer in developing innovative programs for students.

Strategic Location

Dallas: Not Just a City - Your Passport

Business runs deep in Dallas’ DNA, from its founding in 1841 as a regional center of commerce to today, as a global hub for finance, banking, technology, health care and telecommunications. And the story doesn’t stop there. As the “D” in “DFW,” Dallas is part of the nation’s fourth-largest metropolitan area and home to 6.5 million people. It doesn’t take a macroeconomist to know that where there’s growth, there are ample opportunities for successful careers in business.

Just consider recent statistics for our hometown:

  • #1 Best City for Good Jobs, Forbes.com
  • #2 Fastest Growing Metropolitan Region
  • #5 for Job Growth (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
  • #6 Largest Economy in the U.S. (and #14 in the world)
  • #7 Next Big Boom Town (Forbes.com)
  • #10 Best Places for Business and Careers (Forbes)
  • 127 of the “Inc. 5000” companies are headquartered here

Beyond the classroom or office, Dallas has much to do and see—made all the better by the fact that we average 232 sunny days per year. You’ll find the largest urban arts district in America, a vibrant music scene, 10 professional sports teams and the most restaurants per capita—made all the more affordable by the fact that our cost of living is 8.2 percent less than the U.S. average. It’s no wonder the Dallas Metroplex is consistently ranked as one of the top places to graduate, work and live.

Small Private-School Environment

Like a handful of business schools around the world, the SMU Cox School of Business brings a world-class faculty together with talented, ambitious students in a small private-school setting. This intimate, collaborative environment allows for close interaction in the classroom and offers students ready access to professors outside the class.

But at the Cox School, the classroom is only the beginning. Our enrichment programs add tremendous value to your MBA experience.

  • The number of students in Cox’s undergraduate and graduate programs and the number of students enrolled at SMU are small compared to other leading regional and national institutions.
     
  • The quality and frequency of interaction among students and faculty is superior at Cox. Professors—not graduate assistants—teach all of our BBA and MBA programs. The Princeton Review ranked Cox in the top 10 for best professors—based on their interest and accessibility.
     
  • Cox and SMU offer a variety of extracurricular activities to enhance your educational experience, including more than 100 student clubs and organizations, several speaker series and alumni events throughout the year. Our executive mentoring programs for undergraduate and graduate students connect business students with experienced leaders from the Dallas business community.
     
  • You’ll be part of a vibrant university environment. Located in a beautiful residential neighborhood minutes from downtown Dallas, SMU offers an ideal atmosphere for studying alone or with classmates, socializing with friends or interacting with professors. SMU’s arts and athletic programs—coupled with Dallas’ cultural and entertainment options—provide opportunities to relax and recharge.

Strong Professional Network

The world judges business schools by the accomplishments of their graduates. The Cox School is committed to equipping you with the skills, knowledge, experiences and contacts you need to take your career to the next level. And that commitment doesn’t end at graduation. The Cox School’s strong professional network will enhance your experience and success today—and for decades to come.

  • At the Cox School, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate and network with some of the best students in the nation. BusinessWeek, Financial Times and Forbes all recognize Cox as one of the nation’s top business schools, with Forbes ranking Cox’s Professional MBA program # 10 in the nation for return on investment.
     
  • In 2005, The Economist recognized the Cox School as the #1 in the U.S. and #7 in the world for “Potential for Network” based on the breadth, internationalism and effectiveness of our alumni network. The Cox School has more than 30,000 alumni around the world, with active chapters in 15 U.S. states and 20 foreign countries. Every business graduate becomes a lifelong member of the Cox Alumni Association—gaining access to invaluable resources and connections. 

    Business Analytics Degree: Alumni
     
  • SMU and the Cox School bring the world’s most prominent business executives and government leaders to Dallas through a variety of speaker series. Recent speakers have included former Vice President Dick Cheney; Herb Kelleher, chairman of Southwest Airlines; Chris Matthews, MSNBC television anchor; and Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
     
  • The Cox School is guided by one of the most impressive executive boards of any business school in the nation. Current board members include senior executives from Accenture, AMR, AT&T, Bank of Texas, The Container Store, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, Humana, J.C. Penney, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, 7-Eleven, Texas Industries, TXU and Wells Fargo.

Innovative Spirit

The SMU Cox School of Business is a pioneer in developing innovative programs that combine the latest business theory with real-world best practices. By anticipating—even shaping—the changing business environment, we enable our students to stay on the leading edge of business. At Cox, you’ll enjoy dynamic opportunities to learn, grow and advance in your life and career.

Here’s just a sample of Cox School innovations:

  • The SMU Cox School introduced one of the first Master of Science in Business Analytics programs in the country. Our program is unique in that it combines the work of the Marketing and ITOM Departments to provide a Business and an IT view of Analytics. We bring in over 50 different companies working with analytics to meet with students and help them understand the business analytic roles and opportunities in a variety of companies including Consulting companies, Fortune 500 companies, marketing analytics firms, and companies across a variety of industries (healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, oil and gas, athletics etc).
     
  • The SMU Cox School of Business provides specialized training in leadership and communication through the Edwin L. Cox Business Leadership Center (BLC), where students establish lifelong careers and build leadership character.

    While master's programs traditionally focus on classroom lessons, textbooks, and case studies, the Business Leadership Center develops graduate students by fostering conversations and addressing leadership challenges through Seminars, Executive Roundtables, Applied Leadership Programs, and Coaching.
     
  • The Cox School’s Office of Diversity works to create greater diversity in the graduate student body by supporting corporate diversity recruiting, promoting diversity scholarship opportunities and developing funding for diversity programs.
     
  • Cox launched the BBA Business Scholars Program, which admits highly qualified high school students directly into the Cox School. Since the program’s inception, where as the average SAT score for enrolled scholars was 1307 current BBA scholars have an average SAT score greater than 1400 coupled with very challenging curricula and high grade point averages.
     
  • The Cox School’s Executive MBA Class of 2006 travelled to Cuba, marking the first-ever Cox School trip to the country. The group of 80 students and administrators attended presentations on the Cuban economy, Cuba-U.S. bilateral relations, the Cuban public health system, and Cuban business and agriculture.
     
  • The Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship was one of the nation’s first five entrepreneurship programs, founded in 1970.