A World Class Program
Admission to the Minor in Public Policy and International Affairs may be earned by SMU students who are currently enrolled at SMU via the admissions requirements below. The selection process for choosing the Highland Capital Management Tower Scholars will be based on merit and determined by an application and interview process.
The SMU Tower Scholars Program is now accepting applications from the Class of 2023.
Deadline to Apply: February 3, 2020, 5:00 PM, CT
To apply, submit the following items:
- Application Form – complete and email to TowerScholars@smu.edu by 5:00 PM CT, February 3, 2020.
- Recommendation Release Form – complete the form for each of the two people recommending you. One must be an SMU faculty member.
- Recommendation Form – each recommender must complete and email this form to TowerScholars@smu.edu by 5:00 PM CT, February 3, 2020.
Tower Scholars Program applicants must:
- Complete the application form
- Submit two recommendation letters. At least one of the letters MUST be from an SMU faculty member.
- Be a current first-year student at SMU
- Have a 3.3 GPA
- Have taken, or plan to take prior to their third year at SMU the required economics and quantitative co-requisite courses:
- One Economics Pre-Requisite (or co-requisite)
- ECO 1311 or ECO 1312; or,
- an AP Macroeconomics test score of 4 or better; or,
- an AP Microeconomics test score of 4 or better.
- One Quantitative Pre-Requisite (or co-requisite)
- ITOM 2305; or
- MATH 1309 or MATH 1337; or
- SOCI 3311 or SOCI 3312; or
- STAT 2301, STAT 2331 or STAT 4340; or
- an AP Statistics test score of 4 or better.
The strongest applicants will:
- make a strong argument for the relevance of public policy & international affairs to their career goals
- have a strong academic record
- have demonstrated, documented interest in community and/or public service
- have demonstrated leadership and social responsibility
- have excellent written communication skills
The Tower Scholars Program Selection Committee will be recruiting students from a diversity of majors and schools, as well as considering diversity broadly defined. Once the applicant pool has been evaluated, a select number will move on to the final stage of the application process, which is an interview with the Tower Scholars Program Selection Committee. In addition to all of the criteria listed above, the selection committee will seek to evaluate the verbal communication skills of each candidate and will expect candidates to be able to express why becoming a Highland Capital Management Tower Scholar would be meaningful given their specific career goals.