The Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University finished at No. 30 in P&Q’s 2025 ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs in the U.S.
In the ranking’s three methodological categories, Cox scored highest in Academic Experience based solely on our alumni survey, finishing 19th out of 104 ranked programs. The also finished 20th in Career Outcomes and 38th in Admission Standards.
Located in metropolitan Dallas, the Cox School celebrated its 100th year anniversary in 2020. They leverage the city’s extensive network of high-profile companies to offer students a rigorous education with plenty of opportunities to apply their studies in the real world.
Cox had an acceptance rate of 53% for the fall 2024 incoming class and an average SAT score of 1427. Its 6-year graduation rate was 86%.
More than 90% of graduating seniors completed business-focused internships during the course of the program for the last two classes, a positive indicator for full-time employment after graduation. As such, Cox grads also post solid employment rates – the percentage of job-seeking graduates who find positions within three months. The rate for 2024 grads was 90.5% and it was 92.6% for 2023 grads.
Cox graduates in 2024 earned an average starting salary of $81,043 and 55% reported receiving an average signing bonus of $9,968. Top employers included Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Houlihan Lokey, Deloitte, PwC, Bank of America, Jefferies, Cambridge Associates, Hilltop Holdings, and CBRE.
THE COX CURRICULUM
Cox students take 11 core courses that offer a foundation in business theory and skills. After they complete their core coursework, students can choose from seven majors including Accounting, Finance, General Business, Marketing, Management, Business Analytics and Supply Chain Management, and Real Estate. Additionally, students have four concentrations to sharpen their focus including Energy Management, Entrepreneurship, Real Estate, and Risk Management & Insurance.
One of the biggest benefits of the Cox education is the B-school’s proximity to the thriving business hub of Dallas, Texas. Home to a number of Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T, Energy Transfer Equity, Southwest Airlines, Tenet Healthcare, and Texas Instruments, the city of Dallas offers a number of opportunities for students to secure internships and gain valuable work experience.
One prime example of the B-school leveraging its location is through the Cox Honors Marketing Practicum, a course where students partner with Fox Sports Southwest and the Dallas Mavericks to create a 360-degree marketing campaign.
For students potentially interested in a marketing career, the Honors Marketing Practicum at Cox is a perfect opportunity to gain real world experience that is valuable to potential employers.
SMALL, TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY
Another big benefit of the Cox education is the community. With average class size in Cox courses between 35 and 40, business students have a small, tight-knit learning environment to truly engage with each other and their professors.
Group team work is an essential part of business education. And while many b-schools can say they offer opportunities for group collaboration, the Cox School’s small class sizes enable an atmosphere of strong support and collaboration — a key differentiator of the Cox education.
The small, tight-knit Cox community plays a large role in allowing students to connect to alumni for potential jobs and internships.
Overall, what makes the Cox undergraduate experience unique is the B-school’s prime location in Dallas and its well-connected alumni network giving students plenty of opportunities to not only learn business, but to also apply their education in the real world.
ALUMNI SAY
“I did an entrepreneurship capstone and it taught me about how to look at a business from a holistic view. Everything from investors, to sales, to accounting and finance. It truly was a culmination of all of my classes in one course.”
“I obtained a real estate concentration within the business school and all the classes I took toward that concentration required very real-world exercises in modeling software that is used at every commercial real estate firm. Capstone projects included work that analysts do at these firms post grad and were 100% applicable to the industry.”
“The Cox School of Business is outstanding and is only trending upwards. I had an amazing experience just like many of my peers and couldn’t recommend attending the University enough.”
“The Cox School of Business at SMU I truly believe is the best in the country, specifically for real estate. There is no better market than Dallas and there is not better network than SMU Cox grads. I got my dream job after college and I owed it all to the Folsom Institute of Real Estate.”
“I feel like I received a significant advantage in my career prospects due to the network of alumni and community leaders committed to helping SMU. Cox, in the state of Texas and especially in Dallas, makes me stand out above almost every other applicant applying for the same job. When I graduated, I had 4 job offers from companies and roles in my desired field.”
