by our College Data Analytics TeamSouthern Methodist University is a private not-for-profit institution in Dallas, Texas enrolling 7,277 undergraduates. It accepts 63% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 84%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #65 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Southern Methodist University ranks #65 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Southern Methodist University was awarded 844 badges in the 2027 rankings.
SMU is ranked #65 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, SMU holds the #7 spot on the Best Colleges in Texas ranking.
See all of the rankings for Southern Methodist University.
Southern Methodist University has an acceptance rate of 63%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for SMU.
About 16% of students accepted to SMU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 670 and 740. Math scores were between 670 and 750.
SMU received ACT scores from 9% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 30 and 34.
Learn more about Southern Methodist University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at SMU is an impressive 11 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Southern Methodist University is 69%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Southern Methodist University has a freshmen retention rate of 91%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At SMU the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 84%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Southern Methodist University.
The current enrollment includes 7,277 undergraduates at SMU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Southern Methodist University.
The typical net cost at SMU is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $23,544 | $20,038 | $24,152 | $33,477 | $58,213 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of SMU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At SMU, approximately 21% of students took out student loans averaging $5,982 a year. That adds up to $23,928 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.2%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Southern Methodist University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $78,354 in their early years. This is good news for future Southern Methodist University graduates since it is 59% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Southern Methodist University make the most money.
Southern Methodist University is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Dallas, Texas. Dallas is a good match for students who enjoy the safety and convenience of the suburbs. Get more details about the location of Southern Methodist University.
Contact details for Southern Methodist University are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 6425 Boaz St, Dallas, TX 75275-0221 |
| Phone: | 2147682000 |
| Website: | www.smu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Methodist_University |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/smudallas |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/smu |
In the latest year of available data, students from 26 majors graduated from Southern Methodist University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 4,138 | NA |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 609 | $78,145 |
| Economics | 274 | $50,628 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 261 | $66,678 |
| Law | 225 | $81,633 |
| Computer Science | 186 | $74,528 |
| Public Relations & Advertising | 153 | $42,606 |
| General Psychology | 133 | $39,687 |
| Data Science. | 125 | NA |
| Health & Physical Education | 124 | $46,029 |
491 students took at least one online class at Southern Methodist University.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at Southern Methodist University.
Curious how schools stack up against SMU? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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