Southern Methodist (Cox)

Cox is number 40 on the overall ranking of US business schools. The Dallas-based school is known for its strong alumni network. As one graduate writes, “The best thing about an SMU MBA is the vast Dallas SMU network that is extremely supportive of its current students and alumni in both mentorship and recruiting.” Another graduate singles out the program’s “core curriculum” as “the best thing about my program as it allowed each student to experience different potential career fields and learn the basics of different subjects from management to finance.”

Of the five indexes this ranking is based on — Compensation, Learning, Networking, Entrepreneurship and Inclusion — Southern Methodist (Cox) ranked 36th in Compensation, 38th in Inclusion, 45th in Networking, 57th in Entrepreneurship and 65th in Learning. Index scores are based on student and alumni survey responses as well as salary data the school reports to MBA CSEA.

Index Ranks

Index Scores

Student Population

The breakdown below is compared with other US schools. Collected gender and non-binary data is for all students in the newest class, which for most schools is the Class of 2026. Cox reported 57% male and 43% female/non-binary.

Bloomberg also collects data on race and ethnicity from US schools — they provide us with percentages of the first-year class of American students for the following groups: White, Black, Asian, American Indian, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic (of any race). These groups are categorized as such by the schools when submitting data to the federal government.

Hires by Industry

Cox sent the majority of its recent MBA graduates, those with jobs, into Consulting Industry, Financial Services and Technology Industry.

Compensation by Industry

The median base salary across all industries reported by Cox graduates is $129,150; the median signing/starting bonus is $30,000.

Demographics

Survey respondents weigh in on their school’s population, answering broad questions about what campus life is like for female, LGBTQ, and minority students.