International Students

Attention

The Fall 2024 application is now live. We greatly appreciate your interest in Perkins and look forward to receiving your completed application by December 15, 2023.

 

Application Submission Dates

  • Priority: November 15, 2023
  • Final: December 15, 2023

Scholarships

Scholarship opportunities for international students are awarded based on the strength of the entire application for admission. Awards are given at the time an admission decision is made.

Housing and Transportation

Information regarding limited on-campus living can be found on the Residence Life & Student Housing page. Privately owned rental apartments for students and families are available off-campus in the Dallas area. Neighborhoods can be reviewed using the Graduate Student's Guide to Living in Dallas and students can use the services of Apartment Locator, Holly Brogdon findanapartment@aol.com.

Although Dallas is primarily a city of car drivers, you can walk or bike to a large number of commercial and retail areas around SMU. In addition, public transportation on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system around the city is free for all SMU students through the Parking and ID Services office.

 

TOEFL and IELTS

Students whose native language is not English and whose entire secondary education has not been in an English-medium school are required to submit either their TOEFL (minimum score: 80) or IELTS (minimum score 6.5) results.

International Transcripts

 

International university transcripts must be translated into English and certified as official transcripts. Because of the importance of this information, SMU accepts evaluations only from these agencies of proven reliability:

International Academic Credential Evaluators Inc.
PO Box 2585
Denton, TX 76202-2585
Telephone: 940-383-7498
www.iacei.net

World Education Services Inc.
PO Box 745 Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113-0745
Telephone: 212.966.6311
Toll-free: 800-937-3895
Email: infor@wes.org
www.wes.org

Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
7101 SW 102 Avenue
Miami, FL 33173
Telephone: 305-273-1616
Fax: 305-273-1338
Email: info@jsilny.com
www.jsilny.com

The evaluations provided by these agencies should include an explanation that the institution is recognized by the ministry of education in the student’s home country and is generally considered to offer at least the equivalent of U.S. higher education credit. In addition, it should include an explanation of the credits, the grading system and course levels, as well as a course-by-course evaluation.

The expertise and reliability of a professional evaluation report is recognized worldwide and is likely to be accepted by other academic institutions, employers and state licensing boards. However, the report is not binding to SMU, and it will be considered a recommendation for SMU’s independent decision of the credit to be given. Information and applications from the agencies are available online.

 

Estimated Student Budget for Academic Year 2023-2024

A summary of anticipated tuition and living expenses for the 2023-24 academic year is outlined below.

 

Tuition ($795/credit hour)

$19,080

General Student Fees ($304/credit hour)

$7,296

University Fees

$390

Books & Supplies

$2,000

Student Health Insurance

$4,000

Housing

$14,150

Dallas Transportation Costs

$2,232

Total

$49,148 per year

 

This is a nine-month budget based on SMU estimates (Health Insurance is estimated for twelve months) for 24 credit hours. Individual budgets may vary significantly. The estimate above does not include cost for summer expenses. For summer expenses, estimate approximately $5,000. Tuition is subject to change on an annual basis. For a further breakdown of exact direct costs, please see the University Bursar’s Cost of Attendance page.

 

Please note that to receive approval for a student visa, international students will need to certify the ability to pay for the above nine-month costs. If dependents are accompanying an international student, the student would also need to certify additional funds for health insurance and living expenses for the family members