The Financial Information Bulletin is published annually and serves as the official guide to SMU’s financial policies, tuition, fees, and estimated living expenses. All students are responsible for reviewing and understanding these regulations before enrolling.
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Prior to enrollment each semester, students must acknowledge and agree to the Student Rights and Responsibilities, which include:
- Financial Rights and Responsibilities
- Honor Code and Student Code of Conduct
- Appeals and Complaints
This acknowledgment appears as a task on the student’s my.SMU dashboard one month before enrollment opens. A downloadable PDF is available on the Student Rights and Responsibilities website.
Tuition, Billing, and Payment
Students must ensure their accounts are paid in full by the due date specified on the Student Financial Services webpage. Failure to do so may result in financial holds, late fees, and possible cancellation of enrollment.
Billing and Payment Process
- Billing notifications are sent to the student’s SMU email and any designated Authorized User when a bill is generated.
- Students and Authorized Users can access bills online through SMUpay.
- If an account balance notification is not received two weeks before the due date, students should contact Student Financial Services, Office of Student Accounts.
Payment Deadlines
- Online payments (e-check or credit card) must be posted by 11:59 p.m. CT on the due date.
- Balances from prior terms are due immediately. Payments to the student and miscellaneous accounts are required to be paid on or before the due dates. Charges added to the Student Account after the payment due date and will require payment within 24 hours to avoid additional fees and a hold placed on the account.
Delinquent Accounts
- Accounts not cleared by the due date will be subject to a 1.5% monthly past-due fee.
- Financial holds will prevent future registration and/or diploma issuance.
- The university may cancel current enrollment for unpaid accounts.
- Unpaid balances may be referred to a collection agency and reported to the national credit bureaus.
- A collection fee of up to 30% of the outstanding amount, as permitted by law, will be assessed and due in full at the time the account is referred to collection.
- An additional $50 collection management fee will also be applied.
- All costs, including collection or attorney fees, incurred in recovering the outstanding balance are the responsibility of the student.
Credit Balances and Withdrawal Refunds
All credit balances are reviewed by Student Financial Services for accuracy before refunding.
- Credit balances resulting from financial aid disbursement are reviewed before refunding.
- Refunds of financial aid funds are issued directly to the student, except for Parent PLUS Loans, which are refunded to the parent borrower unless a PLUS Loan Refund Release form is submitted.
- International wire refunds are returned to the original account, minus a $35 processing fee.
- Tuition refunds for withdrawals require an official withdrawal and follow the prorated refund schedule in the Financial Information Bulletin. Withdrawal policies, including medical and mandatory administrative withdrawal, are found under Withdrawal from the University in the Enrollment and Academic Records section of this catalog.
- Students withdrawing before completing 60% of a term may have their financial aid adjusted, which may result in an outstanding balance. This calculation is federally mandated and independent of the University’s refund policies for withdrawals.
- Students withdrawing after the 60% point of a term are considered to have earned 100% of their aid.
- If a credit balance remains after adjustments, the account will be reviewed for possible refund or funds returned to the funding source.
- An Authorization to Credit Account (ACA) must be on file, allowing the university to apply credit balances to outstanding charges. Parent loan borrowers must submit an Authorization to Credit Account-Parent (ACAP) form.
To avoid unexpected financial consequences, students should consult with a financial aid advisor before withdrawing.
Payment Plan Options
SMU Monthly Payment Plan
SMU offers payment plans to help students and families manage tuition expenses. Plans vary by term:
- Fall & Spring: 5-month installment plan
- Summer: 3-month installment plan
- Short terms (JanTerm, MayTerm, August Term): Not eligible
They cannot be applied to Miscellaneous account charges and an open balance from a previous term cannot be added to a current payment plan.
SMU Prepayment Plan
This plan allows families to prepay tuition and fees at current rates for two, three, or four years of undergraduate study. The plan covers Fall and Spring terms only.
For details, contact The Mane Desk at 214-768-5555 or manedesk@smu.edu.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Applying for Financial Aid
SMU provides financial assistance to students with demonstrated need. To apply, students must submit:
Priority deadlines:
- First-Year Students:
- Early Decision/Early Action: November 1
- Regular Admission: February 15
- Transfer Students:
- Fall Entry: June 1
- Spring Entry: November 15
- Continuing Students: April 15 (priority processing)
Merit-Based Scholarships
All students are eligible for merit scholarships at the time of admission. Scholarship consideration is based on students demonstrating academic excellence, artistic talent, or other specific criteria (e.g., National Merit Finalists, International Baccalaureate, United Methodist clergy families).
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Financial Aid Eligibility
To maintain financial aid eligibility, students must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, evaluated annually:
- Minimum GPA: 2.0 cumulative GPA (some scholarships may have higher requirements).
- Completion Rate: At least 75% of attempted credits must be successfully completed.
- Maximum Timeframe: Students cannot exceed 150% of the required credit hours for their degree.
Financial Aid Appeals
Students failing to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards risk losing financial aid eligibility, but may appeal through Student Financial Services. If the appeal is approved, aid eligibility will temporarily be re-established on a probationary basis.
Students experiencing unusual financial circumstances that directly impact the ability to pay for educational expenses may submit a Special Financial Circumstances Appeal with the Financial Aid Office. Additional details are available on the Student Financial Services website.
Veterans Benefits and Certification
Veterans’ education benefits are certified through the Office of the University Registrar. More information is available on the SMU Veterans Services website at smu.edu/EnrollmentServices/Veterans.
Graduate and Professional Student Financial Aid
Graduate students may receive:
- Institutional grants, scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships, awarded by their academic department.
- State and federal loans, based on FAFSA submission (School Code: 003613).
For more details, visit the SMU Student Financial Services website at smu.edu/enrollmentservices/sfs or contact:
Division of Enrollment Services - Student Financial Services
Southern Methodist University
PO Box 750181, Dallas, TX 75275-0181
Phone: 214-768-5555
Email: manedesk@smu.edu
A limited number of awards of full and partial tuition and fees are made annually to entering first-year students. The Law School endeavors to use the available funds to attract students who will enhance the Dedman School of Law with their academic achievement and potential (relying primarily on undergraduate grade point averages and Law School Admission Test or Graduate Record Exam scores) and life experiences. Unless otherwise specified in the award notification, these grants are renewed for subsequent years provided the student remains in good standing. Scholarships are applied to courses taken during fall and spring terms at Dedman School of Law.
James Elliot Bower Memorial Scholarship
Selection of James Elliot Bower Memorial scholars is made on the basis of academic proficiency, extracurricular achievement and financial need.
The Charles and Peggy Galvin Endowment Fund
This fund was established in 1979 by multiple donors in honor of Charles and Peggy Galvin. The endowment provides support for a full-tuition scholarship based on merit.
The Sarah T. Hughes Diversity Law Fellowship
The Dallas Bar Foundation helps fund one or more full-tuition scholarships annually to enable men and women from minority groups to obtain a legal education at Dedman School of Law and subsequently enter the legal profession. The fellowship is awarded initially to entering full-time students for one year and is renewable for the second and third years of study as long as the student remains in good standing. Applicants must complete a separate scholarship application and be accepted for admission to Dedman School of Law to be considered.
The Hutchison Endowed Scholarship Program Fund
In 1984, Mr. and Mrs. William L. Hutchison, Sr., created this endowment to fund full-tuition scholarships with the following objectives: 1) to foster and encourage excellence in legal study so that students selected by the school for an award from the endowment income may become competent, able and respected members of the legal profession and/or the business community and 2) to develop in such students the highest sense of duty to community and nation in accordance with the Constitution of the United States. To accomplish these objectives, the school shall employ the following criteria in making scholarship awards: 1) Entering students selected as Hutchison Scholars shall have a superior undergraduate academic record and shall have a high sense of duty and commitment to the community and the nation. 2) A Hutchison Scholar must be a full-time student of the Dedman School of Law each term and must maintain a cumulative average in the top half of their Dedman School of Law class. 3) A Hutchison Scholar shall attend classes regularly, abide by the rules and procedures of the school and maintain a cooperative, friendly attitude and relationship with school administrators, professors and other students.
The Thomas W. Luce, III Centennial Dedman Law Scholars Program Fund
Thomas W. Luce, III Centennial Dedman Law Scholars was established in 2015 by Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr. Recipients of this full-tuition scholarship will be selected based upon academic excellence, demonstrated leadership ability and financial need.
Cary Maguire Ethics Scholarship
Cary M. Maguire created this endowment in 2001 for entering first-year law students who have demonstrated concern and interest in ethical behavior in law. The Cary Maguire Ethics Scholar selection process is based on the law school application and the recipient must write a paper on a topic related to ethical issues in the legal profession during their second year.
Rupert and Lillian Radford Scholarship Fund
The Rupert Radford Estate endowed this scholarship fund to aid worthy full-time students at the Dedman School of Law who have high financial need.
The Robert Hickman Smellage, Sr. Memorial Fund
In 1984, the estate of Oda Elizabeth Smellage created this endowment for worthy students at the Dedman School of Law.
The Sohmen Endowed Scholarship Fund and The Sohmen Chinese Scholars Program Endowment
These scholarships were endowed by the Sohmen Foundation and Dr. Helmut Sohmen to provide awards for not fewer than four students from mainland China or Hong Kong who are in the one-year LL.M. program and have demonstrated high academic achievement. The scholarships include full tuition, fees and a supplemental living stipend. Students must evidence their commitment to return to China immediately (within seven months) following graduation from the program.
Sumners Foundation Scholarship Program
Endowed in 1979 by the Sumners Foundation, the scholarships, which cover the cost of full tuition, fees, books and a living stipend, are awarded each year to qualified entering students who are residents of or who attended colleges or universities in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. Applicants must complete a separate scholarship application and be accepted to the Dedman School of Law to be considered.
The James Cleo Thompson, Sr. Endowed Scholarship Fund
Mr. and Mrs. James Cleo Thompson, Jr., and Mrs. James Cleo Thompson, Sr., created this endowment in 1984. James Cleo Thompson, Sr. Scholars are students who show high academic performance in their undergraduate education and demonstrate valuable traits as community citizens, including service in leadership positions, experience in the workplace, and volunteer commitment to the community.
Endowed Scholarships
The Dedman School of Law awards varying amounts of tuition and fee support from the following endowments that are established through gifts or bequests from graduates and other supporters.
- The Nelda Sánchez Adamson Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Richard Arnold Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Elizabeth and Louis Altman Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Anonymous Law School Endowment
- The Webster Atwell Scholarship Endowment Fund
- Baker & Botts Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Susan and James Baldwin Endowed Law Scholarship Fund
- Dennis Barger Memorial Scholarship
- The Michael C. Barrett Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Tracey and Van Beckwith Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Bennett Scholarship for International Studies
- The Nancy L. Benoit Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The William K. Berenson Endowed Scholarship
- James Elliot Bower Memorial Scholarship
- The James Bozzell Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund
- The Eugene and Juanita Brady Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The George and Pedie Bramblett Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Frank and Debbie Branson Trial Advocacy Scholarship
- The Bridge & Armour Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Build a Bridge Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Dan Burney Law Students Scholarship
- The R.W. Calloway Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Class of 1986 Teresa Jenkins Carson Memorial Scholarship Endowment
- Clovis G. Chappell Endowment
- The Tom C. Clark Scholarship Fund
- The Frances Spears Cloyd Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Rosser J. Coke Scholarship
- Dallas Lawyers’ Auxiliary Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Professor Harvey L. Davis and Chief Justice Clarence Guittard Endowed ABA Moot Court Competition Fund
- The J. Carlisle DeHay, Jr. Endowed Scholarship in Law
- Israel Dreeben Scholarship
- The Easterwood Foundation
- The Carole and Gene Francis Endowed Scholarship
- The Lee and Logan Ford Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Ray and Kay Bailey Hutchison Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Hutchison Endowed Scholarship Program Fund
- The Jackson Walker, L.L.P. Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Jackson & Walker Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- Johnson & Swanson Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Jones Day Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The John Leddy Jones Memorial Scholarships
- Journal of Air Law and Commerce Fund
- K&L Gates Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The K&L Gates Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Locke Liddell & Sapp Endowment Fund
- The Thomas W. Luce, III Centennial Dedman Law Scholars Program Fund
- Cary Maguire Ethics Scholarship
- The Donald J. Malouf Endowed Scholarship Fund
- E. Eugene Mason Endowed Scholarship Fund
- John Winn McKee Scholarship
- Joseph P. McKnight Memorial Scholarship
- The Alfred E. McLane Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Tom and Rosemary Medders Law Scholarship Fund
- Marvin and Mollyann R. Menaker Endowment Fund
- The Britton D. Monts Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Annie Morris Law Scholarship
- Alfred P. Murrah Memorial Scholarship
- The James L. Noel, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Potomac Law Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Dean Charles Shirley Potts Scholarship Endowment Fund
- Maurice E. Purnell Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Rupert and Lillian Radford Scholarship Fund
- The Rain, Harrell, Emery, Young & Doke Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- Joy and Ralph Ellis Scholarship
- The Bess and Ted Enloe Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Armine C. Ernst Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Favrot and Hartwell Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Henry R. and Rose S. Feld and Morton H. and Hortense Sanger Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Donald C. Fitch, Jr. Endowed Scholarship
- The Charles and Peggy Galvin Endowment Fund
- The Judge Dean Gandy Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Gardere & Wynne Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Larry D. George Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Gibbs Memorial Scholarship Fund
- Arthur I. and Jeannette M. Ginsburg Scholarship
- Hawkins Golden Law Scholarship
- The J. Roscoe Golden Memorial Endowed Law Scholarship
- The Hall Family Endowed Scholarship in Law
- W. R. Harris, Sr. Memorial Scholarship
- The DeWitt Harry Scholarship Fund
- The Linda Wertheimer Hart and Milledge A. Hart III Endowment for the School of Law
- James Hartnett Scholarship Endowment Fund
- Haynes and Boone Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- Will T. Henry Endowment
- Wilson W. Herndon Memorial Fund
- Justice John and Lena Hickman Scholarship Fund
- The John Howie Family Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Richard M. Hull Endowed Service Scholarship
- The Bill O’Brien and Doug Hammond Endowed Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The William A. Hunter Memorial Scholarship Fund
- The David S. Huntley and Tracey Nash-Huntley Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The T. Mark Kelly Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Jack M. and Carole V. Kinnebrew Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Beverly and David Leonard Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Jason S. Lindgren Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund
- The Chris Lorenzen Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Ami Patel Memorial Endowed Law Scholarship Fund
- The Henry B. “Hank” Paup Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The William and Dewena Powell Endowed Law Scholarship Fund
- Professor Roy R. Ray Scholarship
- The David N. Reed Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund
- The Homer B. Reynolds III Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Dean John W. Riehm Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund
- Judge Randell C. Riley (1948) Scholarship
- William J. Rochelle, Jr. Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The C. Paul Rogers Endowed Scholarship FundThe W. Yandell “TOG” Rogers Endowed Community Scholarship Fund
- The Martin Samuelsohn Endowed Scholarship
- The Richard L. Scott Family Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The John T. Sharpe Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The B.K. Carter Sloan BBA ‘84 and Mark M. Sloan JD ‘90 Endowed Law Scholarship Fund
- The Grant Inverdale Small Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Robert Hickman Smellage, Sr. Memorial Fund
- The Edward R. & Jo Anne M. Smith Endowment Fund
- Wm. Elliott and Mildred Smith Scholarship
- The Sohmen Chinese Scholars Program Endowment
- The Sohmen Endowed Scholarship Fund
- Fred S. Stradley Memorial Scholarship
- Strasburger & Price Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- Carl W. Summers, Jr., Endowment Fund
- The Sumners Foundation Scholarship Program at SMU School of Law
- The Louis Szep Endowed Memorial Fund
- Lee J. Taylor Scholarship Fund
- Thompson & Knight Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Thompson & Knight Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The James Cleo Thompson, Sr. Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Charles A Tarpley and John J. Tigert, VI Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund
- Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Wayne Vines Memorial Endowed Scholarship
- The Vinson & Elkins Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The Vinson & Elkins Endowed Scholarship Fund – 2002
- W.A. Rhea Scholarship Fund
- The Rufus Wallingford Endowed Scholarship
- James L. and Catherine Nolan Walsh Scholarship Fund
- James L. Walsh, Jr. for the Support of the Law School
- Meade Whitaker Law Scholarship
- Winstead PC Council for Excellence Scholarship Endowment Fund
- The Robert A. Wooldridge Endowed Scholarship Fund
- The W. Yandell “TOG” Rogers Endowed Community Scholarship Fund
- The Stephen A. Youngman Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund
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