Dallas Community

Residence Life & Student Housing (RLSH) sponsors unique programs throughout the academic year for residents to engage with their city.

Our programs are designed to assist students with career preparation, community engagement opportunities, and unique field experiences in the city of Dallas.

students at a museum

Career Preparation

Our Faculty-in-Residence (FiR) and professional staff use our networks to place opportunities in front of talented students. Our networks are in addition to the plethora of career advising and resources available from our friends in the Hegi Career Center. If you have opportunities for SMU students sponsored by your organization, we can help you find the right person for advertising those opportunities.
Dallsgroup of students in front of Angelika

City Life

Dallas is now home to more than 3,300 students living on the Hilltop. We provide numerous opportunities to get students out into the community—theater performances, unique cultural events and festivals, and learning about public policy and service. If you or your organization have an opportunity to offer students, we can support the logistics to leverage the experience.
students playing bubble soccer

Community Engagement

In multiple ways, RLSH engages with the wider Dallas / Fort Worth community. Namely, we work to develop and sustain partnerships with city nonprofits, agencies, and organizations to provide students with volunteer and community service. One of the key ways is via Engage Dallas.

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on south and west Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative. Think big and do good today.

Get in touch so we can explore opportunities for partnership. Our director of academic initiatives will help you connect with the right campus contact.