View source for Organization:Southern Methodist University

{{Short description|Private university in Dallas, Texas, US}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Southern Methodist University
 | image                  = Southern Methodist University seal.svg
 | image_upright          = 0.7
 | caption                = 
 | motto                  = {{lang-la|Veritas liberabit vos}}
 | mottoeng               = "The truth will make you free"
 | established            = {{Start date and age|1911|4|17}}
 | type                   = Private research university
 | accreditation          = [[Organization:Southern Association of Colleges and Schools|SACS]]
 | academic_affiliations  = {{hlist|IAMSCU|
NAICU|ORAU|URA
}}
 | religious_affiliation  = United Methodist Church<ref name="International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU)">{{cite web|url=http://public.gbhem.org/iamscu/search_results.asp?act=search_gen&search_txt=SOUTHERN+METHODIST+UNIVERSITY&type=schools&submit=GO|title=Southern Methodist University|publisher=International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU)|access-date=June 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020030111/http://public.gbhem.org/iamscu/search_results.asp?act=search_gen&search_txt=SOUTHERN+METHODIST+UNIVERSITY&type=schools&submit=GO|archive-date=October 20, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
 | president              = R. Gerald Turner
 | provost                = Elizabeth G. Loboa<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/AboutProvost/|title=About the Provost|access-date=July 27, 2020|publisher=SMU|archive-date=October 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007213919/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/AboutProvost/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 | coor                   = {{Coord|32.83855|-96.78294|region:US-TX_type:edu|display=inline,title}}
 | students               = 12,053 (Fall 2022)<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
 | undergrad              = 7,056 (Fall 2022)<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
 | postgrad               = 4,997 (Fall 2022)<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
 | faculty                = 1,151; 754 full time (Fall 2019)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/ir/commondatasets/2019/CDS_2019-2020_Part_I_Instructional_Faculty.pdf?la=en|title=About SMU|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=December 10, 2019|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124094238/https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/ir/commondatasets/2019/CDS_2019-2020_Part_I_Instructional_Faculty.pdf?la=en|url-status=live}}</ref>
 | endowment              = $1.96 billion (2022)<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
 | city                   = University Park
 | state                  = {{wipe|Texas}}
 | country                = United States
 | campus                 = Large suburb<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Methodist&s=all&id=228246|title=IPEDS - Southern Methodist University|access-date=September 30, 2023|archive-date=September 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913065019/https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Methodist&s=all&id=228246|url-status=live}}</ref>
 | campus_size            = {{convert|234|acre|km2}}<ref name="SMU Today: A Leading National University">{{cite web |url=https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Impact/LeadingNationalUniversity| title=SMU Today: A Leading National University|access-date=December 21, 2015 |website=SMU.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222104732/https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Impact/LeadingNationalUniversity| archive-date=December 22, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 | colors                 = Red and blue<ref name="colors">{{cite web |url=https://www.smu.edu/DevelopmentExternalAffairs/MarketingCommunications/Branding/Colors |title=Color Palette - SMU |date=January 1, 2018 |access-date=August 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807032836/https://www.smu.edu/developmentexternalaffairs/marketingcommunications/branding/colors |archive-date=August 7, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><br>{{color box|#CC0035}}&nbsp;{{color box|#354CA1}}
 | sports_nickname        = Mustangs
 | sporting_affiliations  = {{hlist|NCAA Division I FBS – AAC|ECAC|ACC (in effect July 1, 2024)}}
 | mascot                 = Peruna
 | website                = {{url|www.smu.edu}}
 | logo                   = Southern Methodist University logo.svg
 | logo_upright           = .8
 | free_label2            = Newspaper
 | free2                  = ''The Daily Campus''
 | free_label             = Other campuses
 | free                   = Taos
}}

'''Southern Methodist University''' ('''SMU''') is a private research university in University Park, Texas, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Facts/Location|title=Location & Facilities-SMU|website=Smu.edu|access-date=December 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215120304/http://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Facts/Location|archive-date=December 15, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South—now part of the United Methodist Church—in partnership with Dallas civic leaders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU|title=About SMU|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=December 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210213736/https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU|archive-date=December 10, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://scj.umportal.org/|title=South Central Jurisdiction|website=Scj.umportal.org|access-date=November 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516225835/http://scj.umportal.org/|archive-date=May 16, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> However, it is nonsectarian in its teaching and enrolls students of all religious affiliations. It is [[Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education|classified]] among "R-2: Doctoral Universities – High Research Activity".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=228246 |title=Carnegie Classification of Southern Methodist University |website=carnegieclassifications.iu.edu |access-date=March 11, 2020 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024735/https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=228246 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of fall 2020, the university had 12,373 students, including 6,827 undergraduates and 5,546 postgraduates, representing the largest student body in SMU history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2020/Featured-News/SMU-enrollment-hits-all-time-high|title=SMU enrollment hits all-time high|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=November 24, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024713/https://www.smu.edu/News/2020/Featured-News/SMU-enrollment-hits-all-time-high|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Student Enrollment Fall 2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/StudentEnrollment2020|title=Student Enrollment Fall 2020|access-date=October 1, 2020|publisher=SMU|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124110816/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/StudentEnrollment2020|url-status=live}}</ref> As of fall 2019, its instructional faculty is 1,151, with 754 being full-time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/ir/commondatasets/2019/CDS_2019-2020_Part_I_Instructional_Faculty.pdf?la=en|title=About SMU|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=December 10, 2019|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024659/https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/ir/commondatasets/2019/CDS_2019-2020_Part_I_Instructional_Faculty.pdf?la=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 2020 academic year, the university granted over 3,827 degrees, including 315 doctorates, 1,659 master's and 1,853 bachelor's degrees and offers over 32 doctoral and over 120 masters programs from eight schools: the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, the Dedman School of Law, the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, the Algur H. Meadows School of the Arts, the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Perkins School of Theology, and the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Moody|title=Welcome to the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211194214/https://www.smu.edu/moody|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2019/landmark-100-million-gift-to-SMU-from-Moody-Foundation|title=Landmark $100 million gift to SMU from Moody Foundation to create separate graduate school, fuel significant research|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=November 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112220119/https://www.smu.edu/News/2019/landmark-100-million-gift-to-SMU-from-Moody-Foundation|archive-date=November 12, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==
The university was chartered on April 17, 1911, by the southern denomination of the Methodist Episcopal Church. At the time of the charter, church leaders saw a need to establish a Methodist institution within a metropolitan area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/iwm01|title=METHODIST EDUCATION|date=June 15, 2010|website=Tshaonline.org|language=en|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051221/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/iwm01|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Originally, this new institution was intended to be created in Fort Worth through a merger between Polytechnic College (now [[Organization:Texas Wesleyan University|Texas Wesleyan University]]) and [[Organization:Southwestern University|Southwestern University]]. However, the church's education commission instead opted to create a new institution in Dallas to serve this purpose after extensive lobbying by the Dallas Chamber of Commerce. Robert Stewart Hyer, previously president of Southwestern University, was appointed as the first president of the new university.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kbt24|title=Texas Wesleyan University|last=Minor|first=David|date=June 15, 2010|website=Tshaonline.org|language=en|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053304/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kbt24|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="HyerPapers">{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00072/00072-P.html|title=Robert S. Hyer papers|access-date=November 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203021415/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00072/00072-P.html|archive-date=February 3, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Dallas Hall on the campus of Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas LCCN2015630915.tif|left|thumb|Constructed in 1915, Dallas Hall remains the centerpiece of the campus.]]
The effort to establish a new university in Dallas drew the attention of the General Conference of the Methodist Church, which was seeking to create a new connectional institution in the wake of a 1914 Tennessee Supreme Court decision stripping the church of authority at [[Organization:Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt University]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellor/history/|title=History of the Office {{!}} Office of the Chancellor {{!}} Vanderbilt University|website=Vanderbilt.edu|language=en|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051115/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellor/history/|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The church decided to support the establishment of the new institution while also increasing the size of [[Organization:Emory University|Emory University]] at a new location in DeKalb County, Georgia. At the 1914 meeting of the General Conference, Southern Methodist University was designated the connectional institution for all conferences west of the Mississippi River.<ref>[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00038/smu-00038.html Southern Methodist University origins and history collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007182948/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00038/smu-00038.html |date=October 7, 2008 }} – Utexas.edu – Retrieved February 3, 2008</ref>

SMU named its first building Dallas Hall in gratitude for the support of Dallas leaders and local citizens, who had pledged $300,000 to secure the university's location. It remains the university's symbol and centerpiece, and it inspired "the Hilltop" as a nickname for the school. It was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge after the Rotunda at the [[Organization:University of Virginia|University of Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://people.smu.edu/jwheeler/Dallas_Hall_description.html|title=Dallas Hall - 3225 University Blvd., Dallas, TX 75275|website=People.smu.edu|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151213122246/http://people.smu.edu/jwheeler/Dallas_Hall_description.html|archive-date=December 13, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Dallas Hall opened its doors in 1915 and housed the entire university along with a bank and a barbershop.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dallas Landmarks|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2009|pages=98}}</ref> The hall is registered in the National Register of Historic Places.

[[File:RSHyer.jpg|thumb|Robert Stewart Hyer, physics professor and first president of Southern Methodist University.|232x232px]]
Classes were planned to officially begin in 1913, but construction delays on the university's first building prevented classes from starting until 1915. In the interim, the only functioning academic department at SMU was the medical college it had acquired from [[Organization:Southwestern University|Southwestern University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00088/smu-00088.html|title=SMU Medical and Pharmacy School Records|access-date=November 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203021426/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00088/smu-00088.html|archive-date=February 3, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Southern Methodist University July 2016 145 (Perkins Chapel).jpg|thumb|Perkins Chapel serves as the primary worship setting for Perkins School of Theology.]]
As the first president of Southern Methodist University, Hyer selected Harvard crimson and Yale blue as the school colors in order to associate SMU with the high standards of Ivy League universities.<ref name="colors"/> Several streets in University Park and adjacent Highland Park were named after prominent universities.

In 1927, Highland Park United Methodist Church, designed by architects Mark Lemmon and Roscoe DeWitt, was erected on campus.<ref name="texasstate">{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fle64|title=Lemmon, Mark|access-date=August 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922164804/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fle64|archive-date=September 22, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

During [[Social:World War II|World War II]], SMU was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.<ref name="list-of-v-12">{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Admin-Hist/115-8thND/115-8ND-23.html|title=U.S. Naval Administration in World War II|year=2011|publisher=HyperWar Foundation|access-date=September 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112105122/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Admin-Hist/115-8thND/115-8ND-23.html|archive-date=January 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1987, the university football program's [[Organization:Southern Methodist University football scandal|repeated, flagrant recruiting violations]] led to the NCAA administering what is called the death penalty against the program. The punishment included cancellation of the 1987 football season, most of the 1988 season, and a two-year ban from Bowl Games and televised sports coverage.<ref name="deathpenalty">[http://people.smu.edu/adedo/deathpenalty.html people.smu.edu – Retrieved February 3, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101061545/http://people.smu.edu/adedo/deathpenalty.html|date=January 1, 2008}}</ref>

On February 22, 2008, the university trustees unanimously instructed President R. Gerald Turner to enter into an agreement to establish the George W. Bush Presidential Center on 23 acres on the southeast side of the campus.<ref name="dallasnews">[http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/022308dnmetbushlibrary.19ae3faa.html It's official: Bush library coming to SMU] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706063637/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/022308dnmetbushlibrary.19ae3faa.html |date=July 6, 2008 }} – Dallasnews.com – February 22, 2008</ref> The center, which includes a presidential library, museum, institute, and the offices of the George W. Bush Foundation, was dedicated on April 25, 2013, in a ceremony which featured all living former U.S. Presidents [[Biography:Jimmy Carter|Jimmy Carter]], George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and then-incumbent U.S. president, [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Bush-Presidential-Library-dedicated-in-style-at-4463716.php|title=Bush Presidential Library dedicated in style at SMU|work=Houston Chronicle|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052849/http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Bush-Presidential-Library-dedicated-in-style-at-4463716.php|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The library and museum are privately administered by the [[National Archives and Records Administration]], while the university holds representation on the independent public policy institute board. The project raised over $500 million for the construction and endowment of the George W. Bush presidential center, which has a 249-year ground lease from SMU, with extensions, and operates completely separate from SMU.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/10/bush-raises-more-than-500-million-for-library/|title=Bush Raises More Than $500 Million For Library|date=April 10, 2013|work=Time Magazine –|access-date=September 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715074845/http://swampland.time.com/2013/04/10/bush-raises-more-than-500-million-for-library/|archive-date=July 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us-public-finance/fitch-assigns-aa-idr-to-southern-methodist-univ-tx-affirms-revs-at-aa-29-09-2020|title=Fitch Assigns 'AA-' IDR to Southern Methodist Univ., TX; Affirms Revs at 'AA-'|access-date=September 29, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024700/https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us-public-finance/fitch-assigns-aa-idr-to-southern-methodist-univ-tx-affirms-revs-at-aa-29-09-2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

The university's endowment surpassed $1 billion for the first time in the university's history in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smudailycampus.com/news/smu-endowment-tops-1-billion|title=SMU endowment tops $1 billion|website=Smu.edu|language=en|access-date=September 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926014432/https://www.smudailycampus.com/news/smu-endowment-tops-1-billion|archive-date=September 26, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Through its "Second Century Campaign" from 2008 to 2015, the university raised an additional $1.15 billion and celebrated the centennials of its 1911 founding and 1915 opening through the renovation of Fondren Library, the construction of five new residential halls, and other campus revitalization projects. After these expenditures, the endowment stood at just under $2 billion as of June, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/100/|title=The Second Century Celebration - SMU|website=Smu.edu|language=en|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053109/http://www.smu.edu/100/|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2015/09/24/southern-methodist-university-reaches-1-billion-fundraising-goal|title=Southern Methodist University reaches $1 billion fundraising goal|date=September 24, 2015|work=Dallas Morning News|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222105137/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2015/09/24/southern-methodist-university-reaches-1-billion-fundraising-goal|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Split from the United Methodist Church===
In light of the turmoil within the Methodist Church over what it described as "fundamental differences" over LGBTQ policies, the university decided to separate itself from control of the church.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grigsby |first1=Sharon |title=What SMU's plan to split from Methodist control could mean for Dallas churches angry about LGBTQ policies |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/commentary/2019/12/11/what-smus-plan-to-bolt-from-methodist-control-could-mean-for-dallas-churches-angry-about-lgbtq-policies/ |access-date=18 April 2021 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=11 December 2019 |language=en |archive-date=April 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423075954/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/commentary/2019/12/11/what-smus-plan-to-bolt-from-methodist-control-could-mean-for-dallas-churches-angry-about-lgbtq-policies/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2019, the SMU board filed with the state of Texas amended articles of incorporation that eliminated the [http://www.scjumc.org/ United Methodist Church]'s rights as listed in the 1996 articles. The amendment made it clear that SMU is solely maintained and controlled by its Board as the ultimate authority for the university and removed an overarching statement that the school would be "owned, maintained and controlled by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference."<ref>{{cite press release |last1=Turner |first1=R. Gerald |title=Statement from President Turner regarding our relationship with UMC |url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2019/Statement-from-President-Turner-regarding-our-relationship-with-the-United-Methodist-Church |access-date=18 April 2021 |work=SMU |date=December 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613141450/https://www.smu.edu/News/2019/Statement-from-President-Turner-regarding-our-relationship-with-the-United-Methodist-Church |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="church_lawsuit"/> Within a month, the Church filed a [https://www.insidehighered.com/sites/default/server_files/media/smu_lawsuit.pdf lawsuit] alleging that the trustees of SMU have no authority to amend the Articles of Incorporation without the prior approval and authorization of SCJC.<ref name="church_lawsuit">{{cite news |last1=Brumfield |first1=Loyd |last2=Smith |first2=LaVendrick |title=Methodist conference sues SMU over university's steps to redefine its relationship with the church |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2019/12/08/methodist-conference-sues-smu-over-universitys-steps-to-redefine-its-relationship-with-the-church/ |access-date=18 April 2021 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=8 December 2019 |language=en |archive-date=April 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427151339/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2019/12/08/methodist-conference-sues-smu-over-universitys-steps-to-redefine-its-relationship-with-the-church/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Redden |first1=Elizabeth |title=SMU sued for amending governance documents to separate itself from church authority |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/12/09/smu-sued-amending-governance-documents-separate-itself-church-authority |access-date=18 April 2021 |work=Inside Higher Ed |date=December 9, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426202905/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/12/09/smu-sued-amending-governance-documents-separate-itself-church-authority |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2021, Dallas County judge ruled in favor of Southern Methodist University in the lawsuit.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hodges |first1=Sam |title=Judge rules for SMU over jurisdiction |url=https://www.umnews.org/en/news/judge-rules-for-smu-over-church-conference |access-date=18 April 2021 |work=United Methodist News Service |date=March 23, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421193928/https://www.umnews.org/en/news/judge-rules-for-smu-over-church-conference |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Redden |first1=Elizabeth |title=Judge Sides With University in Dispute With Methodist Church |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/03/25/judge-sides-university-dispute-methodist-church |access-date=18 April 2021 |work=Inside Higher Ed |date=March 25, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=February 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216021306/https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/03/25/judge-sides-university-dispute-methodist-church |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Historical Plano campus ===
From 1997 to 2020<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-19 |title=SMU sells its Plano campus to developer Trammell Crow |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2019/09/19/smu-sells-its-plano-campus-to-developer-trammell-crow/ |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=Dallas News |language=en |archive-date=September 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913065123/https://www.dallasnews.com/business/real-estate/2019/09/19/smu-sells-its-plano-campus-to-developer-trammell-crow/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Southern Methodist University operated a small campus, consisting of 16 acres and 4 buildings, in Plano, Texas, in Legacy Business Park. This campus hosted SMU's video game design school, SMU Guildhall, and other graduate-level programs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/Plano/AboutUs|title=About SMU-in-Plano - SMU|website=Smu.edu|language=en|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052214/http://www.smu.edu/Plano/AboutUs|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> After the university sold the Plano campus to a developer in 2019, SMU Guildhall and all other programs housed there moved onto the main Dallas campus in the new Gerald J. Ford Hall for Research and Innovation on December 4, 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://dallasinnovates.com/change-of-venue-smu-guildhall-planning-move-away-from-plano/|title=Change of Venue: SMU Guildhall Planning Move Away From Plano » Dallas Innovates|last=Innovates|first=Dallas|date=March 21, 2018|work=Dallas Innovates|access-date=July 9, 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709064919/https://dallasinnovates.com/change-of-venue-smu-guildhall-planning-move-away-from-plano/|archive-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2020/Featured-News/Ford-Hall-Celebration | title=The Gerald J. Ford Hall for Research and Innovation ignites the future of research and education at SMU | access-date=July 9, 2022 | archive-date=July 6, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706110153/https://www.smu.edu/News/2020/Featured-News/Ford-Hall-Celebration | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Organization and resources ==
=== Institutional organization ===
[[File:Cox SMU.JPG|thumb|The Cox School of Business]]
SMU has eight degree-granting schools each headed by a dean, with all undergraduates entering the university in the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences as pre-majors:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU|title=About SMU|access-date=January 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127200910/https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU|archive-date=January 27, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Cox School of Business<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cox.smu.edu/home|title=Cox School page|website=Cox.smu.edu|access-date=November 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316193937/http://www.cox.smu.edu/home|archive-date=March 16, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences
* Dedman School of Law<ref name="smu.edu">{{cite web|url=http://smu.edu/dedman|title=SMU Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences - Dedman College - SMU|website=Smu.edu|access-date=October 25, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061101141215/http://www.smu.edu/dedman/|archive-date=November 1, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Lyle School of Engineering<ref>{{cite web|url=http://Awww.smu.edu/en/News/2008/engineering-announcement-17oct2008.aspx|title=SMU Names Engineering School, Launches New Initiatives|access-date=August 3, 2015}}{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* Meadows School of the Arts
* Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/moody|title=About SMU|access-date=December 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211194214/https://www.smu.edu/moody|archive-date=December 11, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> 
* Perkins School of Theology
* Simmons School of Education and Human Development<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smu.edu/SecondCentury/Priorities/SimmonsEducation.aspx|title=Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development – SMU|website=Smu.edu|access-date=November 5, 2012|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823152230/http://www.smu.edu/SecondCentury/Priorities/SimmonsEducation.aspx|archive-date=August 23, 2011}}</ref>

=== Endowment and financial resources ===
[[File:Southern Methodist University July 2016 064 (Gail O. and R. Gerald Turner Pavilion and Blanton Student Services Building).jpg|left|thumb|The Laura Lee Blanton Student Services Building with the Centennial Quadrangle in the foreground]]
Southern Methodist University's 2019 endowment of $1.664 billion ranked 67th largest among the endowments of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and it is one of only 110 institutions with an endowment greater than $1 billion as of June 30, 2019.<ref name=endowment>As of June 30, 2020. {{cite report |url=https://www.smu.edu/investments |title=Southern Methodist University Investments Office |publisher=Southern Methodist University |date=September 28, 2021 |access-date=September 28, 2021 |archive-date=September 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928173721/https://www.smu.edu/investments |url-status=live }}</ref>

On February 26, 2016, SMU announced that "The Centennial Campaign" which concluded on December 31, 2015, had raised $1.15 billion, the largest fundraising campaign of any institution in North Texas's history, the largest total for a private Texas university, and the fourth largest of any university in {{wipe|Texas}}. The Centennial Campaign, coinciding with the 100-year anniversary of the university's founding in 1911 and opening in 1915 also made SMU one of only 34 private colleges and universities in the United States to complete a campaign of $1 billion or more.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20160225-1.15b-raised-by-smu-is-largest-total-for-a-private-texas-university.ece|title=$1.15B raised by SMU is largest total for a private Texas university|year=2016|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|access-date=February 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227114404/http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20160225-1.15b-raised-by-smu-is-largest-total-for-a-private-texas-university.ece|archive-date=February 27, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2016/campaign-success-26feb2016/|title=SMU sets record for Texas private university fundraising with $1.15 billion campaign total|year=2016|publisher=SMU News|access-date=September 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913185410/https://www.smu.edu/News/2016/campaign-success-26feb2016/|archive-date=September 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/09/24/smu-reaches-1-billion-second-century-campaign-goal-announcement-made-during-centennial-convocation/|title=SMU reaches $1 billion Second Century Campaign goal; announcement made during Centennial Convocation|year=2015|publisher=SMU Forum for Faculty and Staff|access-date=February 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301042854/http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/09/24/smu-reaches-1-billion-second-century-campaign-goal-announcement-made-during-centennial-convocation/|archive-date=March 1, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20150924-southern-methodist-university-reaches-1-billion-fundraising-goal.ece|title=Southern Methodist University reaches $1 billion fundraising goal|year=2015|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|access-date=January 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127211142/http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20150924-southern-methodist-university-reaches-1-billion-fundraising-goal.ece|archive-date=January 27, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.smu.edu/apps/100pavers/|title=Crain Family Centennial Promenade|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730172533/https://sites.smu.edu/apps/100pavers/|archive-date=July 30, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Its previous fundraising campaign, "A Time to Lead", which concluded in April 2002 and raised $542 million was the largest fundraising campaign in the school's history at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2015/june/smu-gerald-turner-president-big-man-on-campus|title=SMU's Big Man on Campus|year=2015|publisher=D Magazine|access-date=January 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203193950/http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2015/june/smu-gerald-turner-president-big-man-on-campus|archive-date=February 3, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Under R. Gerald Turner's leadership and through two successive campaigns in under 20 years, SMU has received well over $1.6 billion in commitments in support of institutional priorities.

By 1986 as the university neared the 75th anniversary of its founding, SMU's endowment had grown from $60 million a decade earlier in 1976<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1976/september/can-smu-get-it-together/|title=Can SMU Get It Together?|year=1976|publisher=D Magazine|access-date=September 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913185221/https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1976/september/can-smu-get-it-together/|archive-date=September 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> to nearly $325 million, at the time the 27th largest in the country. the previous "The Design for the Third Generation" fundraising campaign, which had been concluded in May 1983 raised nearly $120 million in gifts and pledges.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/04/magazine/is-there-life-after-football.html|title=Is there life after football|year=1987|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913185016/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/04/magazine/is-there-life-after-football.html|archive-date=September 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00114/smu-00114.html|title=L. Donald Shields papers|year=1986|publisher=Southern Methodist University Archives, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University|access-date=September 13, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024659/https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/00114/smu-00114.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Campuses ==
=== Main campus ===
[[File:George W. Bush Presidential Center dedication.tif|thumb|The Main campus hosts the George W. Bush Presidential Center, seen here during the dedication attended by five living US Presidents.]]
The main campus of Southern Methodist University is mostly located in University Park, a municipality in Dallas County, Texas. The campus extends into the Dallas city limits,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st48_tx/place/p4874492_university_park/DC20BLK_P4874492.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: University Park city, TX|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2023-07-01|archive-date=September 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913065056/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st48_tx/place/p4874492_university_park/DC20BLK_P4874492.pdf|url-status=live}} - [https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/AboutSMU/Maps/pdf/Map_Black_Names24.pdf Compare to the campus map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913065123/https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/AboutSMU/Maps/pdf/Map_Black_Names24.pdf |date=September 13, 2023 }}</ref> and into the city limits of Highland Park.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st48_tx/place/p4833824_highland_park/DC20BLK_P4833824.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Highland Park city, TX|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2023-07-01|archive-date=September 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913070615/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st48_tx/place/p4833824_highland_park/DC20BLK_P4833824.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It is located on 234 acres of land just west of US Route 75.<ref name="SMU Today: A Leading National University"/> Dallas Hall is the centerpiece for this campus and is the administrative center for the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/Dedman/AboutDedmanCollege/Facilities|title=Dedman College Spans 10 Campus Buildings - Dedman College - SMU|website=Smu.edu|language=en|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053122/http://www.smu.edu/Dedman/AboutDedmanCollege/Facilities|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Most of the campus is centered around Bishop Boulevard, an elongated, tree-lined loop road that also serves as the site for "Boulevarding", SMU's version of the tailgating seen on many American college campuses.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/smumustangs/2017/06/29/technically-tailgating-smus-boulevards-still-texas-best-tailgates|title=It isn't technically tailgating, but SMU's boulevards are still Texas' best tailgates|date=June 29, 2017|work=SportsDay|access-date=December 19, 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051623/https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/smumustangs/2017/06/29/technically-tailgating-smus-boulevards-still-texas-best-tailgates|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The campus was ranked as the most beautiful campus in America by ''Condé Nast Traveler'' in 2016 and also hosts the George W. Bush Presidential Center, located on the east side of the campus. The library and museum are privately administered by the [[National Archives and Records Administration]], while the university holds representation on the institute board.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/conde-nast-traveler/the-most-beautiful-colleg_b_9153626.html|title=The Most Beautiful College Campuses in America|last=Vogel|first=Laura|work=Condé Nast Traveler|date=February 3, 2016|via=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902191753/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/conde-nast-traveler/the-most-beautiful-colleg_b_9153626.html|archive-date=September 2, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Taos campus ===
Since 1973, the university has owned a 423-acre campus located at Fort Burgwin, just outside of Taos, New Mexico. This campus hosts classes during intersessions between semesters and during the summer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Taos/About|title=SMU-IN-TAOS, Fort Burgwin - SMU|website=Smu.edu|language=en|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053040/https://www.smu.edu/Taos/About|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Along with the normal academic courses offered at the site, students attending classes at this campus during the winter can opt to attend wellness classes centered around winter sports. Other courses offered at this campus are sometimes adjusted to utilize the surrounding environment, such as a course in field botany offered during some summers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/Taos/2013Summer/Syllabi/June/Ubelaker---BIOL-3343-Field-Botany---Syllabus.ashx?la=en|title=Biology 3343|last=Ubelaker|first=John|date=June 1, 2013|website=SMU Department of Biological Sciences|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053115/http://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/Taos/2013Summer/Syllabi/June/Ubelaker---BIOL-3343-Field-Botany---Syllabus.ashx?la=en|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Academics ==
=== Admissions ===
For the class of 2024 (entering Fall 2020), 14,010 students applied, 7,379 (52.7%) were admitted, and 1,531 enrolled/matriculated (20.7%) – including 758 women and 773 men, and the 1 year retention rate (entering Fall 2019) was 92%. The average SAT was 1,343 while the average ACT was 30.6.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/ir/Trends/2020/Student/First_Time_Admissions_2020-21.pdf?la=en|title=First-time Undergraduate Admissions Statistics 2010-2020|website=Smu.edu|language=en|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024657/https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/ir/Trends/2020/Student/First_Time_Admissions_2020-21.pdf?la=en|url-status=live}}</ref> The middle 50% SAT range for enrolled students was 630–710 for Evidence-Based Reading & Writing, 620–740 for math, while the ACT Composite range was 29–33.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/entering_first_year_2020|title=Entering First-year Students Fall 2020|website=Smu.edu|language=en|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024700/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/entering_first_year_2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

=== University Honors Program ===
First-year undergraduate students admitted to SMU are automatically reviewed for admissions into the highly selective University Honors Program (UHP). Generally, first-year students that rank in the top 10% of their incoming class will receive a formal invitation to join the UHP. Students that do not receive an invitation must have completed at least one full-time semester on campus with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher before formally applying for admissions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Dedman/StudentResources/UniversityHonors/Admission|title=Admission - Dedman College - SMU|website=Smu.edu|access-date=November 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914022142/https://www.smu.edu/Dedman/StudentResources/UniversityHonors/Admission|archive-date=September 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The University Honors Program is a liberal arts honors experience that serves to supplement the basic SMU University Curriculum. Students are required to take honors courses throughout their time at SMU, and the program culminates with a final senior project or experience. Each student's experience can be unique, and students are encouraged to pursue projects in their area of study or about their passions.

=== Reputation and rankings ===
{{Infobox US university ranking
| Forbes = 169
| USNWR_NU = 89 <small>(tie)</small>
| THE_WSJ = 175
| USNWR_W = 732 <small>(tie)</small>
| QS_W = 1001-1200
| Wamo_NU = 353
| ARWU_W = 701-800
| ARWU_NU = 158–171
| THES_W = <small>Unranked</small>
}}

{| class="infobox" style="width: 22em;"
! colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;" |
<big>USNWR graduate school rankings</big><ref name="USNWR Grad School Rankings">{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/southern-methodist-university-228246/overall-rankings|title=Southern Methodist University - U.S. News Best Grad School Rankings|publisher=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=September 28, 2020|archive-date=December 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208033108/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/southern-methodist-university-228246/overall-rankings|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| Business
| 33
|-
| Education
| 49
|-
| Engineering
| 161
|-
| Law
| 45
|}

In the 2023 edition, ''U.S. News & World Report'' SMU is tied for 89th in the rankings of national universities, with its highest ranking by the ''U.S. News & World Report'' being 56th in 2017, and 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2016/09/13/smu-ties-ut-baylor-passes-m-2017-us-news-college-r/|title=SMU Ties UT, Baylor Passes A&M in 2017 U.S. News College Rankings|date=September 13, 2016|publisher=The Texas Tribune|access-date=October 9, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024700/https://www.texastribune.org/2016/09/13/smu-ties-ut-baylor-passes-m-2017-us-news-college-r/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2010/08/17/how-did-texas-fare-in-us-news-college-rankings/|title=TribBlog: How Texas Colleges Stack Up [Updated]|date=August 17, 2010|publisher=The Texas Tribune|access-date=October 9, 2020|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025000425/https://www.texastribune.org/2010/08/17/how-did-texas-fare-in-us-news-college-rankings/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="SMU Rankings and Recognitions">{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/aboutsmu/facts/rankingsandrecognition|title=Rankings and Recognition|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 9, 2020|archive-date=September 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926113827/https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Facts/RankingsAndRecognition|url-status=live}}</ref>

In spring 2020, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the Cox School's Executive M.B.A. program No. 27 in the nation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/smu-3613/overall-rankings|title=Southern Methodist University|publisher=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=September 28, 2020|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312003800/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/smu-3613/overall-rankings|url-status=live}}</ref>

''U.S. News & World Report'' ranks the Dedman School of Law tied for 56th in the U.S. for 2021.<ref name="USNWR Grad School Rankings"/> and it ranks No. 23 among the top 50 law schools with the highest average salaries of first-year graduates, according to data released by the ''U.S. Department of Education'' in April 2020 based on 2016 salaries.<ref name="SMU Rankings and Recognitions"/>

In 2020, ''Condé Nast Traveler'' ranked SMU among "The 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America", naming it the No.6 most beautiful college campuses in America in 2016.<ref name="SMU Rankings and Recognitions"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-01-29/the-20-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-america/6|title=The 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America|work=Condé Nast Traveler|date=January 29, 2016|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=September 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930225314/https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-01-29/the-20-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-america|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020 ''The Princeton Review'' in its 11th edition ranked ''SMU Guildhall'' as the No. 4 "Graduate Program for Game Design" in the world. Since the rankings debuted in 2010, the ''SMU Guildhall'' has ranked in the top 10, earning N0. 7 in 2013, No. 3 in 2014 and 2015, No. 2 in 2016 and 2019, and the No. 1 spot in 2017, and 2018 for two years in a row in a survey of over 150 institutions. ''The Princeton Review'' also ranks SMU as one of the "Best Western Colleges" and as eighth in "Lots of Greek Life."<ref name="Southern Methodist University"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Guildhall/News-and-Events/SMU-Guildhall-named-Top-Game-Design-Grad-School|title=SMU Guildhall Named to The Princeton Review List, "Top 25 Graduate Schools for Game Design for 2019"|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=September 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930174925/https://www.smu.edu/Guildhall/News-and-Events/SMU-Guildhall-named-Top-Game-Design-Grad-School|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.smu.edu/forum/2016/03/16/smu-guildhall-rises-to-2-in-the-princeton-reviews-2016-graduate-game-design-program-rankings/|title=SMU Guildhall rises to #2 in The Princeton Review's 2016 graduate game-design program rankings|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=November 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123174529/https://blog.smu.edu/forum/2016/03/16/smu-guildhall-rises-to-2-in-the-princeton-reviews-2016-graduate-game-design-program-rankings/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/03/30/princeton-review-ranks-smu-guildhall-3rd-among-graduate-game-design-programs-in-2015/|title=Princeton Review ranks SMU Guildhall #3 among graduate game-design programs in 2015|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024733/https://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/03/30/princeton-review-ranks-smu-guildhall-3rd-among-graduate-game-design-programs-in-2015/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.smu.edu/forum/2014/03/24/smu-guildhall-ranked-3rd-among-graduate-game-design-programs-in-2014-princeton-review-list/|title=SMU Guildhall ranked third among graduate game-design programs in 2014 Princeton Review list|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024821/https://blog.smu.edu/forum/2014/03/24/smu-guildhall-ranked-3rd-among-graduate-game-design-programs-in-2014-princeton-review-list/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.princetonreview.com/game-design-press-release.aspx  Top Video Game Design Press Release] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425165034/http://www.princetonreview.com/game-design-press-release.aspx |date=April 25, 2012 }}, Princeton Review, March 11, 2014.</ref>

In the 2019 edition, SMU is ranked 91st in by ''{{wipe|Forbes}}''.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2018Facts/entering_first_year_2018|title=Entering First-year Students Fall 2018|website=Princetonreview.com|language=en|access-date=November 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128075550/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2018Facts/entering_first_year_2018|archive-date=November 28, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' ranked the Cox School B.B.A. program No. 21 in the nation — the second consecutive ranking at No. 21 in that publication, and No. 5 in the nation for post-graduation B.B.A. salaries.<ref name="SMU Rankings and Recognitions"/> The 2016 ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' undergraduate rankings survey, which the publication announced it will no longer conduct after this year, ranked 114 U.S. schools based heavily on career outcomes. ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' also ranked the SMU Cox Professional MBA program No. 7 in the nation; the SMU Cox Full-Time MBA program No. 31 in the nation; and ranked the SMU Cox Executive MBA program no. 3 in the world in 2013, the last year the publication ranked EMBA programs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2016/cox-award-06dec2016|title=SMU Cox undergraduate degree program ranked No. 17|website=Bloomberg Businessweek|language=en|access-date=2020-10-08|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024803/https://www.smu.edu/News/2016/cox-award-06dec2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, ''{{wipe|Forbes}}'' named Southern Methodist University as the No.14th among America's Most Entrepreneurial Universities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/liyanchen/2015/07/29/americas-most-entrepreneurial-research-universities-2015/#25f5782f3823|title=America's Most Entrepreneurial Research Universities|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-10-08|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024734/https://www.forbes.com/sites/liyanchen/2015/07/29/americas-most-entrepreneurial-research-universities-2015/#25f5782f3823|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2014, ''[[Software:USA Today|USA Today]]'' ranked SMU as the number 1 music college in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/college/2014/06/19/the-top-10-music-colleges-in-the-united-states/37391927/|title=The top 10 music colleges in the United States|website=USA TODAY|language=en|access-date=2019-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105150901/https://www.usatoday.com/story/college/2014/06/19/the-top-10-music-colleges-in-the-united-states/37391927/|archive-date=January 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Research centers, institutes and related facilities===
'''Sources:'''<ref name="Academic Offerings">{{Cite web |url=http://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Facts/AcademicOfferings |title=Academic Offerings|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=November 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422130842/https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Facts/AcademicOfferings |archive-date=April 22, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Southern Methodist University">{{Cite web |url=https://www.smu.edu/Guildhall/News-and-Events/SMU-ranked-first-for-Game-Design-for-second-consecutive-year|title=SMU Guildhall Named #1 Grad School for Game Design for Second Consecutive Year|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024702/https://www.smu.edu/Guildhall/News-and-Events/SMU-ranked-first-for-Game-Design-for-second-consecutive-year |url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''AT&T Center for Virtualization''': housed within the SMU Lyle School of Engineering. 
* '''Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/News/2020/Featured-News/Fueling-the-Future-of-Business|title=Fueling the Future of Business|website=Smu.edu|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024734/https://www.smu.edu/News/2020/Featured-News/Fueling-the-Future-of-Business|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility'''
* '''The Brierley Institute for Customer Engagement''': at SMU Cox<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.smu.edu/smumagazine/2017/07/hal-brierley-helps-prepare-the-next-generation-of-business-leaders/|title=Hal Brierley Helps Prepare The Next Generation Of Business Leaders |publisher=Smu.edu |access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024756/https://blog.smu.edu/smumagazine/2017/07/hal-brierley-helps-prepare-the-next-generation-of-business-leaders/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security''': housed within the SMU Lyle School of Engineering. 
* '''Southwestern Graduate School of Banking''': based within the SMU Cox School of Business. 
* '''John Goodwin Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs''': Named after John Tower (MA 1953), United States Senator for Texas from 1961 to 1985.
* '''SMU Guildhall''': The university also awards the Master of Interactive Technology (MIT) in Digital Game Development, as well as the Professional Certificate in Digital Game Development, with specializations in Art, Design, Production, and Programming – the only graduate program in the country to offer all four pillars of game development and has been ranked as the #1 Graduate Program for Game Design in the world by the Princeton Review for two years in a row.'''<ref name="Academic Offerings" /><ref name="Southern Methodist University"/>
* '''SMU DataArts: National Center for Arts Research (NCAR)''': based within the SMU Cox School of Business. 
* '''William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies'''

=== Libraries and museums ===
==== Libraries ====
[[File:Southern Methodist University July 2016 080 (Fondren Library Center).jpg|thumb|233x233px|Fondren Library]]
* '''Business Information Center (BIC)''' – Business school library. Some resources are available to the public.
* '''Bridwell Library''' – Named for the philanthropist Joseph Sterling Bridwell of Wichita Falls, the Bridwell Library (established 1950) is one of the leading theological research collections in the United States.<ref>Comer, Stephen Earl. [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lcb04 "Bridwell Library," The Handbook of Texas Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018015027/http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lcb04 |date=October 18, 2013 }}. Retrieved April 23, 2013.</ref>
* '''Central University Libraries''' – Central University Libraries is the largest of the SMU library administrative units, with holdings of more than 2.1 million volumes.<ref>Southern Methodist University. [http://smu.edu/catalogs/undergraduate/file/2012-2013/2012_SMU_UGCatalog_FrontSections.pdf University Bulletin: Undergraduate Catalog 2012–13] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309032747/http://smu.edu/catalogs/undergraduate/file/2012-2013/2012_SMU_UGCatalog_FrontSections.pdf |date=March 9, 2013 }}, p. 75.</ref> It comprises the Fondren Library Center, the Jake and Nancy Hamon Arts Library, the DeGolyer Library of Special Collections, the SMU Archives, the ISEM Reading Room ('''I'''nstitute for the '''S'''tudy of '''E'''arth and '''M'''an), the Norwick Center for Digital Services, and the Fred Wendorf Information Center at SMU-in-Taos, New Mexico.
* '''CUL Digital Collections''' – Central University Libraries Digital Collections provide anyone around the world the ability to access a variety of text, videos and images. These collections are part of CUL's ongoing effort to digitize and make available SMU's unique special collections on the Web.
* '''DeGolyer Library''' – The DeGolyer Library is the principal repository at SMU for special collections in the humanities, the history of business, and the history of science and technology. Dedicated to enhancing scholarship and teaching at SMU, the DeGolyer Library is charged with maintaining and building its various collections "for study, research, and pleasure." Established in 1957 by gifts from geophysicist Everette Lee DeGolyer, DeGolyer Library houses one of the strongest collections in the United States on the Trans-Mississippi West, Texas, the Spanish borderlands, transportation with an emphasis on railroads, and business history.<ref name="hot-deg">{{Handbook of Texas|id=lcd01|name=DeGolyer Library}}. Retrieved March 21, 2009.</ref>
* '''Fondren Library Center''' – The largest collection of resources on campus, Fondren Library houses materials in the humanities, social sciences and business, as well as government information resources. Fondren Library also houses the Science and Engineering Library which includes collections in biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, mathematics, statistics, computer science, and civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering. The library has particularly strong collections in the earth sciences, electronics, general science and technology. The Norwick Center for Digital Collections is also housed in Fondren. Fondren Library is open 24 hours, and is a common study place for students. Students have been known to call Fondren Library Center "Club Fondy" due to the social nature of the library. Fondren Library is also home to a Starbucks Cafe that serves faculty, staff, and students.
* '''Edwin J Foscue Map Library''' – Located in Fondren Library Center, this is one of the largest map collections in the Southwest.
* '''Fort Burgwin Library''' – The Fort Burgwin Library, located on the SMU-in-Taos campus in New Mexico, contains approximately 9,768 books and small collections of journals and maps.
* '''Hamon Arts Library''' – Hamon Arts Library supports the undergraduate and graduate programs of the Meadows School of the Arts in the disciplines of art, arts administration, cinema, dance, music, and theater. The Library's circulating and reference collections contain more than 180,000 items relating to the visual and performing arts. In addition, the Library has some 300 subscriptions to arts periodicals and provides access to more than 40 online resources that are specific to the arts.
* '''Norwick Center for Digital Services''' – The Center includes a student multimedia center and screening room and supports a full range of digital services, production services and collaborative technology support, including the CUL Digital Collections.
* '''Underwood Law Library''' – The Underwood Law Library's more than 640,000 volumes support the instruction and research of the Dedman School of Law and the general SMU community. The Library's collection is particularly strong in the areas of international law, commercial law, securities, taxation, jurisprudence, oil and gas, and air and [[Astronomy:Space law|space law]].

====Publications====
{{Infobox journal
| title = Field & Laboratory
| italic title=no
| cover =
| former_name =
| abbreviation = Field Lab.
| discipline = [[Biology:Botany|Botany]]
| editor = 
| publisher = SMU Scholar
| country = United States
| history = 1932–1959
| frequency = 
| openaccess = Yes
| license = Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0
| impact = 
| impact-year = 
| ISSN = 
| eISSN = 0096-042X
| CODEN = 
| JSTOR = 
| LCCN = sf98085275
| OCLC = 2008034
| website = https://scholar.smu.edu/fieldandlab
| link1 = 
| link1-name = 
| link2 = 
| link2-name = 
}}
'''''Field & Laboratory''''' was a [[Scientific journal|scientific journal]] published semiannually, then quarterly, sponsored by the science departments of the university. It was established November 1, 1932, and had a total of 27 volumes. With volume 17 in 1949, quarterly publication commenced. The final issue was published in October 1959. Articles are available in PDF format at SMU Scholar,<ref name=fal>{{Cite web | title = Field and Laboratory | url = https://scholar.smu.edu/fieldandlab/ | website = SMU Scholar (scholar.smu.edu) | access-date = November 10, 2022 | archive-date = October 27, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221027130340/https://scholar.smu.edu/fieldandlab/ | url-status = live }}</ref> a partnership between SMU Libraries, the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, and the Office of Information Technology.<ref name=smus>{{Cite web | title = About SMU Scholar | url = https://scholar.smu.edu/about.html | website = SMU Scholar (scholar.smu.edu) | access-date = November 10, 2022 | archive-date = December 3, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221203081529/https://scholar.smu.edu/about.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

==== Museums ====
* '''George W. Bush Presidential Center''' – Located on 23 acres on the east side of the SMU main campus, the center includes a presidential library, museum, institute, and the offices of the George W. Bush Foundation. The library and museum are privately administered by the [[National Archives and Records Administration]], while the university holds representation on the independent public policy institute board. The center serves as a resource for the study of the George W. Bush presidency and includes a full-size replica of the White House Oval Office, as it was during his presidency, together with over 43,000 artifacts, almost 70 million pages of textual materials, over 3.8 million photographs, 80 terabytes of electronic records, and overt 200 million email messages.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/en/About-Us|title=About Us|work=George W. Bush Presidential Library|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024744/https://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/en/About-Us|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dallasnews"/>
[[File:Southern Methodist University July 2016 122 (Meadows Museum).jpg|thumb|Meadows Museum]]
* '''Meadows Museum''' – The Meadows Museum's collection was assembled by its founder, Algur H. Meadows.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://meadowsmuseumdallas.org/collections/pages/ |title=About the Collection &#124; Collections &#124; Meadows Museum, Dallas |access-date=September 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921225927/https://meadowsmuseumdallas.org/collections/pages/ |archive-date=September 21, 2018 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> It houses several collections including a collection of Spanish art from the tenth to the 21st centuries. The museum holds different exhibits for periods of time every year. In 2018 it held the exhibition "Dali: Poetics of the Small, 1929–1936", followed by Mariano Fortuny y Masal's artwork in the "Fortuny: Friends and Followers" exhibit.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.smudailycampus.com/ae/meadows-fortuny-friends-and-followers |title=Meadows' Fortuny: Friends and Followers |date=February 19, 2019 |access-date=February 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220122728/https://www.smudailycampus.com/ae/meadows-fortuny-friends-and-followers |archive-date=February 20, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> This exhibit will run from February 19 to June 6. It also includes a sculpture collection including works by David Smith, Henry Moore and Claes Oldenburg, as well as by contemporary sculptors such as James Surls. Important figural sculptures by Rodin, Maillol, and Giacometti are also housed within the museum. It is also responsible for the university's art collection, including work by several important regional artists. 
* '''Pollock Gallery'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Meadows/AreasOfStudy/Art/PollockGallery|title=Pollock Gallery - Art - Meadows School of the Arts|website=Smu.edu|access-date=June 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607204521/http://www.smu.edu/meadows/AreasOfStudy/Art/PollockGallery|archive-date=June 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> – The Pollock Gallery provides an ever-changing display of works by the faculty and students of the Meadows School of the Arts, as well as by outside artists. It is located in the Hughes–Trigg Student Center.

== Student life ==
=== Student demographics ===
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Student body composition as of May 2, 2022
|-
! Race and ethnicity<ref>{{cite web|title=College Scorecard: Southern Methodist University|url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?228246-Southern-Methodist-University|publisher=United States Department of Education|access-date=May 24, 2022|archive-date=May 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525015327/https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?228246-Southern-Methodist-University|url-status=live}}</ref>
! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
|-
| [[Social:Non-Hispanic whites|White]]
|align=right| {{bartable|64|%|2||background:gray}}
|-
| Hispanic
|align=right| {{bartable|13|%|2||background:green}}
|-
| Asian
|align=right| {{bartable|8|%|2||background:purple}}
|-
| Foreign national
|align=right| {{bartable|6|%|2||background:orange}}
|-
| Other{{efn|Other consists of Multiracial Americans & those who prefer to not say.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|5|%|2||background:brown}}
|-
| Black
|align=right| {{bartable|5|%|2||background:mediumblue}}
|-
! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |[[Social:Economic diversity|Economic diversity]]
|-
| Low-income{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal Pell grant intended for low-income students.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|9|%|2||background:red}}
|-
| Affluent{{efn|The percentage of students who are a part of the American middle class at the bare minimum.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|91|%|2||background:black}}
|}
* As of the Fall 2020 semester, the university's 12,373 students are 6,827 undergraduates and 5,546 postgraduates from all 50 states and 83 countries. The leading 10 states of origin of U.S. residents in descending order of the total undergraduate population are Texas (2,932), California (858), Florida (264), Illinois (194), Georgia (155), New York (155), Connecticut (149), Missouri (131), Tennessee (114), Arizona (98), Colorado (91), Louisiana (91), New Jersey (91), and Arkansas (84).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/origin_undergrad_and_first-year_2020|title=Top 10 States of Origin for Fall 2020|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024737/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/origin_undergrad_and_first-year_2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Student Enrollment Fall 2020"/>
* As of the Fall 2020 semester, the university's international student population of 1,117 (9%) comes from 83 countries and includes 392 undergraduate and 725 graduate students. The leading 10 countries of origin in descending order for undergraduates are China (204), Mexico (26), Canada (12), Vietnam (10), Korea (9), United Kingdom (8), Brazil (8), Australia (6), India (6), Panama (5), Spain (5), Côte d'Ivoire (4), France (4), Germany (4), Honduras (4), Taiwan (4), United Arab Emirates (4), Venezuela (4), El Salvador (3), Nigeria (3), Peru (3), and Saudi Arabia (3). In descending order for Graduate students, the countries are China (288), India (115), Saudi Arabia (49), Mexico (39), Iran (25), Korea (19), Taiwan (18), Canada (14), Italy (9) and South Africa (8) <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/country_origin_undergrad_and_grad_2020|title=Top 10 Countries of Origin for Fall 2020|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024737/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/country_origin_undergrad_and_grad_2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
* As of the Fall 2020 semester, 31.4% of the student body are members of a minority group, while females constitute 49% of the undergraduate and 48% of the graduate student populations, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/GenderDistributionFall2020|title=Ethnicity Distribution Fall 2020|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024738/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/GenderDistributionFall2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
* As of the Fall 2020 semester, SMU's female to male ratio is approximately 1:1 and its student-faculty ratio is 11:1. The average age of undergraduate students is 20, while that of graduate and professional students is 30, and the total average student age is 25.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/GenderDistributionFall2020|title=Ethnicity Distribution Fall 2020|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024736/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/GenderDistributionFall2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/StudentDistributionFall2020|title=Student Distribution Fall 2020|access-date=October 12, 2020|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024737/https://www.smu.edu/Provost/IR/Statistics/FactSheets/Fall2020Facts/StudentDistributionFall2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Among students reporting a religious affiliation, 25% are Catholic, 13% are [[Religion:Methodism|Methodist]], 38% are from other [[Religion:Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations, and 15% are from other religions including [[Religion:Judaism|Judaism]] and [[Religion:Hinduism|Hinduism]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Facts/CampusProfile|title=Campus Profile - SMU|website=Smu.edu|access-date=November 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104160850/https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Facts/CampusProfile|archive-date=November 4, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Undergraduate housing ===
[[File:Southern Methodist University July 2016 014 (Loyd Commons).jpg|left|thumb|224x224px|Loyd Commons]]
[[File:Armstrong_Commons.jpg|thumb|Armstrong Commons, one of five residential commons opened in 2014]]
Since the autumn of 2014, Southern Methodist University's undergraduate housing system has operated on a residential commons model rooted in similar systems at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England.<ref>The New Residential Commons at SMU. [http://www.smu.edu/ResidentialCommons/FAQ Frequently Asked Questions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614093253/http://www.smu.edu/ResidentialCommons/FAQ |date=June 14, 2013 }}.</ref> Undergraduate students are required to live on campus for their first two years, and they must live their first year in one of the eleven residential commons that they are randomly sorted into after enrollment.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/ResidentialCommons/Housing/Selection|title=Housing Assignments|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=August 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807094533/https://www.smu.edu/ResidentialCommons/Housing/Selection|archive-date=August 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Each commons houses a faculty-in-residence and a residential community director that organize events and interact with the residents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/ResidentialCommons/FacultyEngagement|title=Faculty Engagement Programs|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=August 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807064232/https://www.smu.edu/ResidentialCommons/FacultyEngagement|archive-date=August 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The eleven residential commons are Armstrong, Boaz, Cockrell-McIntosh, Crum, Kathy Crow, Loyd, Mary Hay-Peyton-Shuttles, McElvaney, Morrison-McGinnis, Virginia-Snider, and Ware.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/ResidentialCommons/Explore/InteractiveMap|title=Get to Know the Residential Commons|publisher=Southern Methodist University|access-date=August 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807063924/https://www.smu.edu/ResidentialCommons/Explore/InteractiveMap|archive-date=August 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Built in 1926, Virginia-Snider Commons is the oldest of the current residence halls. It served as a women's dormitory in the university's early years, and it later served as the common residence hall for students in the University Honors Program before the implementation of the residential commons model.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vscommons.com/about/|title=History|website=Virginia-Snider Commons|language=en-US|access-date=February 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215143832/http://www.vscommons.com/about/|archive-date=February 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The youngest commons are those that opened in 2014: Armstrong, Kathy Crow, Ware, Loyd, and Crum.

=== Student organizations ===
Southern Methodist University is home to almost three hundred student organizations, including academic, professional, fraternal, sporting, ethnic themed, religious, service, and political diversity groups. Notable examples include the Feminist Equality Movement (FEM), the service organization Mustang Heroes, one of the largest organizations on campus, and the Embrey Human Rights Program.
Student organizations such as Student Foundation and Program Council frequently sponsor all-student events on various weekdays and weekends as well as boulevard tents. Student Foundation helps put on popular events such as Family Weekend, the Tate lectures, Celebration of Lights, Homecoming, and Perunapalooza.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://smu.collegiatelink.net/organizations|title=Orgs@SMU|publisher=CollegiateLink|access-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221015748/https://smu.collegiatelink.net/Organizations|archive-date=December 21, 2016|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

=== Religious life ===
The Office of the Chaplain and Religious Life house religious organizations on campus. There are multiple Christian organizations, Hillel, and a Muslim Students Association. The South Asian Student Association hosts a Diwali celebration yearly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/ChaplainandReligiousLife|title=Office of the Chaplain and Religious Life|website=www.smu.edu|access-date=December 12, 2023}}</ref> There is a Catholic Center on campus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smucatholic.org/|title=Catholic Campus Ministry at SMU|website=smucatholic.org|access-date=December 12, 2023}}</ref>

=== Student media ===
''The Daily Campus'' was the independent student newspaper between 1915 and 2018. The frequency of the publication changed throughout the years and with the change in semesters. Publishing less frequently over the summer, for example. The board of directors of The Student Media Company, the independent nonprofit that at one time oversaw all student media, including KSMU and Rotunda, voted to dissolve due to a lack of funds in April 2018. Although still publishing in digital format, the newspaper lost its independent status in May 2018.

Other student media include:
* ''The Rotunda'', the official SMU yearbook
* ''SMU-TV'', a student-run television station serving the Park Cities community
* ''The Daily Update'', a weekday morning newscast that airs on SMU-TV and smudailymustang.com
* ''Hilltopics'', a publication sponsored by the University Honors Program that publishes periodically
* ''The Muddler'', a satirical newspaper
* ''SMU LOOK'', a student-run fashion magazine, website, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channel
* ''SMU Style'', a student-run fashion and lifestyle blog
As of May 2018, The Daily Campus was placed under the control of the school's journalism department.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Hardy, Michael|url=https://www.texasobserver.org/smu-just-lost-its-independent-student-newspaper-is-your-college-next/|title=SMU Just Lost Its Independent Student Newspaper. Is Your College Next?|magazine=Texas Observer|date=May 17, 2018|access-date=May 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521104732/https://www.texasobserver.org/smu-just-lost-its-independent-student-newspaper-is-your-college-next/|archive-date=May 21, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

KSMU, a student-radio station, operated from 1964 to 1989. It broadcast as a carrier-current and FM station; in the 1980s, it was restricted to broadcasting within the student center and via local cable. The call letters were changed to KPNI, which operated from 1995 to 2011. In the latter days, it was a digital streaming station and moved from management under the auspices of The Student Media Co. to the department of journalism. The university radio station shuttered in 2011 due to a lack of funding.<ref>"[https://www.smu.edu/Libraries/digitalcollections/stud Southern Methodist University Student Newspapers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505014311/https://www.smu.edu/Libraries/digitalcollections/stud |date=May 5, 2019 }}", Southern Methodist University. Retrieved May 4, 2019.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Dreyer |first1=Sissy |title=SMU Sound: bringing student radio back to campus |url=https://www.smudailycampus.com/news/smu-sound-bringing-student-radio-back-to-campus |website=The Daily Campus |access-date=17 January 2022 |date=March 22, 2015 |archive-date=January 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117220618/https://www.smudailycampus.com/news/smu-sound-bringing-student-radio-back-to-campus |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smudailycampus.com/news/kpni-smu-radio-reloaded |website=The Daily Campus |access-date=17 January 2022 |title=KPNI – SMU Radio reloaded – SMU Daily Campus |date=September 19, 2003 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619131926/https://www.smudailycampus.com/news/kpni-smu-radio-reloaded |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Greek life ===
Southern Methodist University has approximately 43% of the undergraduate student body affiliated with its Greek system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/StudentActivities/FSL|title=Fraternity and Sorority Life|publisher=Southern Methodist University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902114232/https://www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/StudentActivities/FSL|archive-date=September 2, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Starting in 2010, the NPC sororities began updating and rebuilding their older sorority houses. The multi-million dollar projects was received critically by some, praised by others. The first house rebuilt was Pi Beta Phi,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pibetaphi.org/pibetaphi/smu/|title=Welcome to Pi Beta Phi|access-date=August 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019105525/https://www.pibetaphi.org/pibetaphi/smu/|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> followed by Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Delta Delta,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trideltasmu.com/|title=Southern Methodist University Tri-Delta|access-date=August 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709135006/http://trideltasmu.com/|archive-date=July 9, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Chi Omega,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smuchiomega.com/|title=SMU Chi Omega - Sorority - Dallas|access-date=August 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821063607/http://www.smuchiomega.com/|archive-date=August 21, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2014/08/30/why-smus-new-6-5m-sorority-house-went-viral.html|title=Why SMU's new $6.5M sorority house went viral - Dallas Business Journal|date=August 31, 2014|work=Dallas Business Journal|access-date=August 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019105525/http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2014/08/30/why-smus-new-6-5m-sorority-house-went-viral.html|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Kappa Alpha Theta,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dmagazine.com/home-garden/2016/12/inside-kappa-alpha-thetas-7-3-million-sorority-house-at-smu/ |title=Inside Kappa Alpha Theta's $7.3 Million Sorority House at SMU |date=December 2016 |access-date=April 22, 2020 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024737/https://www.dmagazine.com/home-garden/2016/12/inside-kappa-alpha-thetas-7-3-million-sorority-house-at-smu/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Alpha Chi Omega.

Alpha Phi Alpha was banned in 2004 due to hazing rituals during which a student went into a coma; four members of the fraternity were expelled from SMU as a result.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 20, 2004 |title=SMU students expelled over hazing incident |work=My Plainview |url=https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/SMU-students-expelled-over-hazing-incident-8804434.php |access-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-date=August 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819110821/https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/SMU-students-expelled-over-hazing-incident-8804434.php |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, Phi Gamma Delta was ordered to cease all organizational activity pending a university investigation into hazing. Pi Kappa Alpha received a similar notice that year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/higher-education/2018/02/15/smus-fiji-fraternity-ordered-cease-activitiesamid-hazing-investigation|title=SMU's Fiji fraternity ordered to cease activities amid hazing investigation|date=February 15, 2018|work=Dallas News|access-date=March 1, 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302103928/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/higher-education/2018/02/15/smus-fiji-fraternity-ordered-cease-activitiesamid-hazing-investigation|archive-date=March 2, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On March 26, 2018, Pi Kappa Alpha was officially suspended by the university until the fall of 2022. This was the second suspension of a Greek Life organization in the 2017–2018 academic year after Kappa Alpha Order was suspended in October 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Pi-Kappa-Alpha-Fraternity-Suspended-from-SMU-Campus-477993173.html|title=Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity Suspended from SMU Campus|work=NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth|access-date=2018-08-19|language=en|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225024739/https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/pi-kappa-alpha-fraternity-suspended-from-smu-campus/63783/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Kappa Alpha Theta was suspended in 2022 and entered a mutual agreement with SMU through May 2025, after allegations of hazing new members. New members were forced to consume alcohol on February 10, 2022, and were exposed to activities that impacted their safety and health. After Kappa Alpha Theta's suspension, former members established the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, The Society. The Society recruits new members, has a house, and participates in mixers with fraternities, just as Kappa Alpha Theta did. SMU added a provision to its Student Code of Conduct, warning of disciplinary action towards students who affiliate with unrecognized student organizations, such as The Society. <ref>{{cite news|last=Rold|first=Ellis|date=November 27, 2023|title=Thinking Theta? Think again.|url=https://smudailycampus.com/1063328/news/thinking-theta-think-again/|work=The Daily Campus|access-date=December 12, 2023}}</ref>

=== Athletics===

Southern Methodist University's athletic teams are known as the Mustangs and participate in the NCAA's Division I, with the football team competing as a member of Division I FBS.  The football team plays at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the SMU campus. The Mustangs compete in the American Athletic Conference (previously named the Big East Conference) for all sports beginning in the 2013–14 season. Prior to that, the Mustangs participated in the now-defunct Southwest Conference and the Western Athletic Conference.On September 1, 2023, it was announced that SMU will join the Atlantic Coast Conference starting in the 2024 season.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sherrington|first=Kevin|date=September 1, 2023|title=SMU reaches promised land with ACC invite, a Texas detour for Tobacco Road|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/smu-mustangs/2023/09/01/smu-reaches-promised-land-with-acc-invite-a-texas-detour-for-tobacco-road/|url-status=live|work=The Dallas Morning News|location=University Park, Texas|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920111351/https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/smu-mustangs/2023/09/01/smu-reaches-promised-land-with-acc-invite-a-texas-detour-for-tobacco-road/|archive-date=September 20, 2023|access-date=September 30, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Foster|first=Matt|date=September 1, 2023|title=Stanford, Cal and SMU to join Atlantic Coast Conference |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/01/sport/stanford-cal-smu-atlantic-coast-conference-spt-intl/index.html|url-status=live|work=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921022502/https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/01/sport/stanford-cal-smu-atlantic-coast-conference-spt-intl/index.html|archive-date=September 21, 2023|access-date=September 30, 2023}}</ref> 

[[File:SMU_football_fans.jpg|left|thumb|SMU football fans]]

SMU's closest rival in athletics is Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas. In football, SMU and TCU compete annually (with the exception of 2006) for the Iron Skillet. In 2005, a nationally unranked SMU beat then 24th-ranked TCU for SMU's first win against a ranked team in 19 years (since October 1986).<ref>Associated Press (Dallas), September 10, 2005. [http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=252532567 "TCU's 6-game winning streak vs. SMU ends"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104083059/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=252532567 |date=November 4, 2012 }}. ESPN.com</ref> SMU also competes annually with Rice University in football for the "Mayor's Cup," a traveling trophy that has been created to enhance the Rice-SMU rivalry, which dates back to 1916. SMU has won seven more games (48-41-1) than Rice in their rivalry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=4394&SnID=2|title=Operation Sellout II Aims for Bigger Season Opener|last=Kaplan|first=David|date=August 27, 1998|publisher=Rice News & Media Relations|access-date=July 23, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123040531/http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=4394&SnID=2|archive-date=November 23, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

From 1980 to 1985, SMU had one of the strongest programs in Division I-A (now FBS). They posted a record of 55–14–1, and finished these seasons ranked No. 21, No. 7, No. 2, No. 19, and No. 8 in the nation. These "winningest" years concluded with the Death Penalty on February 25, 1987, due to repeated violations conducted by boosters. The NCAA administered the "death penalty" for [[Organization:Southern Methodist University football scandal|repeated, flagrant recruiting violations]]. Components included cancellation of the entire 1987 season, a two-year ban from bowl appearances, a two-year ban from television appearances, a limit of seven games, all on road, in the 1988 season, a loss of three assistant coaching positions for two years and a loss of 55 new scholarships over four years. Players were allowed to transfer without sitting out one season, per standard requirement. SMU responded to the combination of these conditions by canceling the 1988 season outright.<ref name="deathpenalty" />

The Doak Walker Award is an annual collegiate award given to the nation's "most outstanding college running back" for his accomplishments on the field, achievement in the classroom and citizenship in the community. It was established in 1989 and is named after SMU Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://smu.edu/doakwalker/|title=Doak Walker Award|year=2012|website=DoakWalkerAward.com|access-date=April 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415190855/http://smu.edu/doakwalker/|archive-date=April 15, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://smu.edu/doakwalker/doak_legends_award.asp|title=PwC Doak Walker Legends Award|year=2012|website=DoakWalkerAward.com|access-date=April 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525071302/http://smu.edu/doakwalker/doak_legends_award.asp|archive-date=May 25, 2013|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

June Jones was named the head football coach at SMU in 2008. He brought a record of 76–41, all at the University of Hawai{{okina}}i, where he won more games than any other coach in school history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/07/smu-slaps-pitt-in-bbva-compass-bowl/|title=SMU slaps Pitt in BBVA Compass Bowl|date=January 7, 2012|website=Collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com|access-date=November 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627053402/http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/07/smu-slaps-pitt-in-bbva-compass-bowl/|archive-date=June 27, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Jones stepped down in 2014 as Head Coach after a 0–2 start to the 2014 season, in which the team was outscored 88–6. He was succeeded by former Clemson assistant Chad Morris.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Clemson assistant Chad Morris the new coach at SMU|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/12/01/clemson-assistant-chad-morris-the-new-coach-at-smu/19748813/|access-date=2021-02-11|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US|archive-date=July 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709155624/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/12/01/clemson-assistant-chad-morris-the-new-coach-at-smu/19748813/|url-status=live}}</ref>  Chad Morris led SMU to the Frisco Bowl in 2017 in his third season before departing for the University Of Arkansas. Current head coaches of the men's football and basketball programs are Rhett Lashlee and Tim Jankovich, having started in 2021 and 2016 respectively.

The SMU football program has produced many professional football standouts, such as Don Meredith, Doak Walker, Kyle Rote, Eric Dickerson, Jerry Ball, and Craig James. As of May 2021, nineteen Mustangs were active in the National Football League, including wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (Buffalo Bills), wide receiver Cole Beasley (Buffalo Bills), tackle Kelvin Beachum (Pittsburgh Steelers), wide receiver Courtland Sutton (Denver Broncos), and wide receiver Trey Quinn (Washington Football Team).

=== Marching Band ===
SMU's marching band plays at football and basketball games, performing big band and jazz music.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gorgol |first=Rachel |title=Inside the spirit of The Mustang Band – SMU Daily Campus |date=November 24, 2015 |url=https://www.smudailycampus.com/news/inside-the-spirit-of-the-mustang-band |access-date=2022-08-19 |language=en-US |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405025219/https://www.smudailycampus.com/news/inside-the-spirit-of-the-mustang-band |url-status=live }}</ref> The approximately 80-member ensemble is nicknamed "The Best Dressed Band in the Land" due to its variety of uniform combinations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-06-01 |title=General Info |url=http://people.smu.edu/band/General_Info.htm |access-date=2022-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601144818/http://people.smu.edu/band/General_Info.htm |archive-date=June 1, 2009 }}</ref> In 2001, the band performed at the first inauguration of George W. Bush.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Mike |date=2001-01-21 |title=Seven Texas school bands march in inaugural parade |url=https://www.chron.com/news/article/Seven-Texas-school-bands-march-in-inaugural-parade-2006467.php |access-date=2022-08-19 |website=Chron |language=en-US |archive-date=September 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913065004/https://www.chron.com/news/article/seven-texas-school-bands-march-in-inaugural-parade-2006467.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Notable people ==

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Whitford |first=David |year=1989 |title=A Payroll to Meet: A Story of Greed, Corruption, and Football at SMU |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company |isbn=9780026271912 |oclc=19555913}}
** The book is an account of the recruiting scandals and violations that ultimately led to the NCAA's famous "Death Penalty" being instituted. {{Cite news |last=White |first=Gordon S. |date=October 22, 1989 |title=Gridiron Greed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/22/books/gridiron-greed.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206015322/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEEDE1E3EF931A15753C1A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |archive-date=December 6, 2007 |url-status=live |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |at=Section 7, p. 29 |access-date=August 6, 2007}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.smumustangs.com/ SMU Athletics website]

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[[Category:Private universities and colleges in Texas]]

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