Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences

History and General Information

Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences has been the intellectual heart of the University since SMU was founded in 1911. It is home to the humanities, social and behavioral sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences – disciplines central to the traditions of higher education.

When SMU opened the doors of Dallas Hall in 1915 to welcome its first class of students, those students matriculated into the College of Arts and Sciences, the academic unit that would eventually become Dedman College. In 1963, with the formulation of the Master Plan, the college became the School of Humanities and Sciences in recognition of its role in the specialized education of students in the liberal arts. From 1963 until 1980, the basic liberal arts education for all SMU students was provided by University College, an independent, non-degree-granting academic unit.

The School of Humanities and Sciences was merged in 1980 with University College to create a new entity central to the enterprise of undergraduate education. This college would provide the basic foundations in liberal arts education to all SMU students and also serve as a center for the integration of specialized education in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. As an indication of its centrality to the educational process, the name was changed from school to college, emphasizing that it is a community of students and teachers, whose life together, no matter how diversified and specialized, is unified by the implicit and explicit values derived from a liberal arts education. In 1981, the newly formed college was endowed by the late Robert H. Dedman, Sr., and his wife, Nancy McMillan Dedman, and was renamed Dedman College.

Dedman College is the oldest and largest academic unit at SMU. As one of the nation's premier liberal arts institutions, it has earned a reputation for the breadth and depth of its graduate programs and the quality of its learning and research resources. Graduate work at the master’s level has been offered at SMU since the University first opened its doors in 1915 and doctoral work began in 1959. Annually, approximately 2,300 undergraduate students major in Dedman College programs, in addition to 1,770 pre-majors. The college enrolls approximately 510 graduate students. More than 400 faculty members are based in the college’s 16 academic departments. Undergraduate students in Dedman College may major and minor in more than 100 programs. Dedman College offers 27 graduate programs leading to a master’s degree and 17 programs leading to a Ph.D. degree.

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