College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

Southern Methodist University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do SMU graduates earn?

The reported median is $95,051 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $26,801 per year.

Return is a clear strength at Southern Methodist University, where Azimuth places the in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $18,898 more than 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.

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.

At the higher end, Computer Science completers have median earnings of $126,590; Mathematics completers earn $111,773; and Business Administration and Management completers earn $106,799, all four years after completion. Those field medians show why the modeled range represents variation across programs, not a single forecast.

An estimated 29.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, an estimate derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Since four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, they do not describe graduates who continue their education.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$95,051
Rank for difference from expectations
95th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
SMU reported median
$95,051
Peer schools comparable schools · $26,801 below SMU
$68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $18,898 below SMU
$76,153

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. How the model works.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $55,594 to $126,681, around the reported median of $95,051. Compare the lower scenario with SMU borrowing and monthly payments to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion
Planning rangeReported median
Lower estimate
$55,594
Median · reported
$95,051
Higher estimate
$126,681

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do SMU graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

SMU graduates’ reported earnings are $18,898 above that expectation, the 95th percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending SMU caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$9,502
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$9,396
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$18,898

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Which fields at SMU report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning programs at Southern Methodist University are concentrated in business and quantitative fields. Finance leads with median earnings of $133,852 four years after completion, alongside 290 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #7 nationally within its field. Mathematics and Computer Science follow, at $111,773 and $126,590 respectively.

Mathematics holds an Azimuth national rank of #14 with 82 degrees awarded. Computer Science sits at #64 nationally and awards 90 degrees a year.

Further down the earnings scale, Psychology reports $72,136 from 103 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #15 nationally.

That leaves a wide earnings gap between the top business and quantitative programs and the moderate-earning social sciences.

The university's strongest programs combine scale with standout earnings. Finance is the largest single program at 290 degrees awarded a year, and its graduates earn a median of $133,852 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #7 in its field nationally and #1 in Texas. Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication is smaller but ranks #1 nationally, with 120 degrees awarded and median earnings of $89,330.

Economics awards 160 degrees and shows median earnings of $91,701, placing it #60 in its field. Across the university, 13 bachelor's programs carry an Azimuth national rank.

Computer Science graduates earn $126,590 from 90 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #64 in its field nationally. Mathematics follows at $111,773, with 82 degrees awarded and a national rank of #14.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Finance and Financial Management Services
$133,852
Computer Science
$126,590
Mathematics
$111,773
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$106,799
Accounting and Related Services
$103,675
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
$93,769
Economics
$91,701
Mechanical Engineering
$90,649

Explore SMU program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from a downside of $55,594 through a typical scenario of $95,051 to an upside of $126,681. Finance has median earnings of $133,852 four years after completion, whereas Kinesiology and Physical Education has $62,838. The spread shows how much the earnings picture varies by field.

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.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.