Return is a clear strength at Southern Methodist University, where Azimuth places the pillar in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,898 more than the model expects for similar students.
That earnings-beyond-expectations result, the gap between graduate earnings and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,502.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $9,396. Median earnings four years after completion are $95,051, and Azimuth places that figure in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the university's median is $26,801 above it. Both comparisons point in the same direction.
Southern Methodist University shows a high earnings midpoint: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $95,051 four years after completion. The earnings cohort includes 969 completers, and that median sits in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Graduates earn about $18,898 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix place the typical outcome at the observed earnings midpoint, with a downside scenario of $55,594 and an upside scenario of $126,681.
An estimated 29.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The high midpoint and above-expected earnings point in the same direction.
Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $95,051. That places the university at the 96th percentile nationally.
The figure is $26,801 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth ranks Southern Methodist University #31 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,898 more than the model expects for similar students.
That outcome is at the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,502.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $9,396. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,441, and the largest degree fields are Business, Social Sciences and Communication & Journalism.
Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, span from $55,594 on the downside to $126,681 on the upside. An estimated 29.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.
Program choice makes the modeled range wide: the downside earnings scenario is $55,594 and the upside scenario is $126,681 four years after completion. These are scenarios based on the program mix, rather than observed groups.
Southern Methodist University pairs lower borrower debt than comparable institutions with earnings that exceed the model's expectation, though aid recipients face a higher average net price. Graduates earn about $18,898 more than the model expects for similar students.
For federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,500, $4,699 below the peer median—the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size)—of $24,199. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years.
Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, have median borrowing of $40,025. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $40,892, $13,521 above the peer median.
Aid covers about 52% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Lower borrower debt and above-expected earnings contrast with an average net price above peers.