The student population at Southern Methodist University is 12,116 (7,285 undergraduate and 4,831 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 473 over the past decade.
The percentage of undergraduate students at SMU is 60.13% which is increased by 874 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 401 and it has been decreasing.
The female to male ratio is 1.00 to 1 which means that the numbers of female and male students are similar.
669 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 126.01% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 11,941 where 12,116 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
60.13% of total students is undergraduate students and 39.87% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has increased by 874 and the graduate enrollment has decreased by 401 over past 10 years.
The female to male ratio is 1.00 to 1 and it means that there are similar numbers of female and male students enrolled in SMU.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Southern Methodist University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 11,643 | 6,411 | 3,191 | 3,220 | 5,232 | 2,842 | 2,390 |
| 2016-17 | 11,739 96 | 6,521 110 | 3,258 67 | 3,263 43 | 5,218 -14 | 2,824 -18 | 2,394 4 |
| 2017-18 | 11,789 50 | 6,452 -69 | 3,257 -1 | 3,195 -68 | 5,337 119 | 2,828 4 | 2,509 115 |
| 2018-19 | 11,649 -140 | 6,479 27 | 3,325 68 | 3,154 -41 | 5,170 -167 | 2,716 -112 | 2,454 -55 |
| 2019-20 | 11,824 175 | 6,710 231 | 3,413 88 | 3,297 143 | 5,114 -56 | 2,647 -69 | 2,467 13 |
| 2020-21 | 12,373 549 | 6,827 117 | 3,507 94 | 3,320 23 | 5,546 432 | 2,887 240 | 2,659 192 |
| 2021-22 | 12,385 12 | 6,908 81 | 3,486 -21 | 3,422 102 | 5,477 -69 | 2,872 -15 | 2,605 -54 |
| 2022-23 | 12,053 -332 | 7,056 148 | 3,478 -8 | 3,578 156 | 4,997 -480 | 2,562 -310 | 2,435 -170 |
| 2023-24 | 11,842 -211 | 7,115 59 | 3,481 3 | 3,634 56 | 4,727 -270 | 2,454 -108 | 2,273 -162 |
| 2024-25 | 12,116 274 | 7,285 170 | 3,557 76 | 3,728 94 | 4,831 104 | 2,491 37 | 2,340 67 |
| Average | 11,941 | 6,776 | 3,395 | 3,381 | 5,165 | 2,712 | 2,453 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 6,776 where 7,285 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Southern Methodist University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 6,411 | 6,160 | 3,062 | 3,098 | 251 | 129 | 122 |
| 2016-17 | 6,521 | 6,296 | 3,134 | 3,162 | 225 | 124 | 101 |
| 2017-18 | 6,452 | 6,240 | 3,150 | 3,090 | 212 | 107 | 105 |
| 2018-19 | 6,479 | 6,273 | 3,206 | 3,067 | 206 | 119 | 87 |
| 2019-20 | 6,710 | 6,519 | 3,316 | 3,203 | 191 | 97 | 94 |
| 2020-21 | 6,827 | 6,616 | 3,386 | 3,230 | 211 | 121 | 90 |
| 2021-22 | 6,908 | 6,728 | 3,401 | 3,327 | 180 | 85 | 95 |
| 2022-23 | 7,056 | 6,880 | 3,383 | 3,497 | 176 | 95 | 81 |
| 2023-24 | 7,115 | 6,948 | 3,391 | 3,557 | 167 | 90 | 77 |
| 2024-25 | 7,285 | 7,146 | 3,477 | 3,669 | 139 | 80 | 59 |
| Average | 6,776 | 6,776 | 3,291 | 3,290 | 6,776 | 105 | 91 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 5,165 where 4,831 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Southern Methodist University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 5,232 | 2,700 | 1,572 | 1,128 | 2,532 | 1,270 | 1,262 |
| 2016-17 | 5,218 | 2,713 | 1,565 | 1,148 | 2,505 | 1,259 | 1,246 |
| 2017-18 | 5,337 | 2,813 | 1,560 | 1,253 | 2,524 | 1,268 | 1,256 |
| 2018-19 | 5,170 | 2,622 | 1,424 | 1,198 | 2,548 | 1,292 | 1,256 |
| 2019-20 | 5,114 | 2,634 | 1,381 | 1,253 | 2,480 | 1,266 | 1,214 |
| 2020-21 | 5,546 | 2,688 | 1,400 | 1,288 | 2,858 | 1,487 | 1,371 |
| 2021-22 | 5,477 | 2,638 | 1,325 | 1,313 | 2,839 | 1,547 | 1,292 |
| 2022-23 | 4,997 | 2,404 | 1,174 | 1,230 | 2,593 | 1,388 | 1,205 |
| 2023-24 | 4,727 | 2,412 | 1,214 | 1,198 | 2,315 | 1,240 | 1,075 |
| 2024-25 | 4,831 | 2,533 | 1,265 | 1,268 | 2,298 | 1,226 | 1,072 |
| Average | 5,165 | 5,165 | 1,388 | 1,228 | 5,165 | 1,324 | 1,225 |
The percentage of white students is 51.67%. The percentage was 58.84% 10 years ago and SMU still has a high percentage of white students. 8.09% of enrolled students is Asian and 7.65% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 16.23% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 58.84% to 51.67%. Asian enrollment grew from 6.14% to 8.09%. Black student enrollment increased from 6.02% to 7.65%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 10.74% to 16.23%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6926 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.6341 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Southern Methodist University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 38 | 715 | 701 | 1,251 | 16 | 6,851 | 309 |
| 2016-17 | 35 | 722 | 722 | 1,231 | 7 | 6,840 | 335 |
| 2017-18 | 29 | 755 | 691 | 1,295 | 11 | 6,774 | 362 |
| 2018-19 | 33 | 795 | 725 | 1,356 | 13 | 6,677 | 397 |
| 2019-20 | 25 | 824 | 727 | 1,453 | 9 | 6,859 | 417 |
| 2020-21 | 24 | 929 | 855 | 1,618 | 9 | 7,226 | 452 |
| 2021-22 | 23 | 974 | 871 | 1,675 | 10 | 7,198 | 470 |
| 2022-23 | 27 | 960 | 846 | 1,680 | 8 | 6,824 | 466 |
| 2023-24 | 35 | 951 | 904 | 1,786 | 10 | 6,395 | 470 |
| 2024-25 | 35 | 980 | 927 | 1,967 | 11 | 6,260 | 504 |
| Average | 30 | 861 | 797 | 1,531 | 10 | 6,790 | 418 |
669 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 6% of total students. The number of online students has increased 126.01% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Southern Methodist University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 11,643 | 296 | 267 | 11,080 |
| 2016-17 | 11,739 | 420 | 339 | 10,980 |
| 2017-18 | 11,789 | 503 | 687 | 10,599 |
| 2018-19 | 11,649 | 501 | 603 | 10,545 |
| 2019-20 | 11,824 | 515 | 647 | 10,662 |
| 2020-21 | 12,373 | 3,213 | 626 | 8,534 |
| 2021-22 | 12,385 | 912 | 703 | 10,770 |
| 2022-23 | 12,053 | 892 | 706 | 10,455 |
| 2023-24 | 11,842 | 849 | 798 | 10,195 |
| 2024-25 | 12,116 | 669 | 1,002 | 10,445 |
| Average | 11,941 | 877 | 638 | 10,427 |
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