[16][18] The church decided to support the establishment of the new institution while also increasing the size of Emory University at a new location in DeKalb County, Georgia.

In the interim, the only functioning academic department at SMU was the medical college it had acquired from Southwestern University.

In 1927, Highland Park United Methodist Church, designed by architects Mark Lemmon and Roscoe DeWitt, was erected on campus.

[25] On February 22, 2008, the university trustees unanimously instructed President R. Gerald Turner to enter into an agreement to establish the George W. Bush Presidential Center on 23 acres on the southeast side of the campus.

[27] The library and museum are privately administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, while the university holds representation on the independent public policy institute board.

[32][33] In March 2021, Dallas County judge ruled in favor of Southern Methodist University in the lawsuit.

[34][35] From 1997 to 2020[36] Southern Methodist University operated a small campus, consisting of 16 acres and 4 buildings, in Plano, Texas, in Legacy Business Park.

[56] Under R. Gerald Turner's leadership and through two successive campaigns in under 20 years, SMU has received well over $1.6 billion in commitments in support of institutional priorities.

The previous "The Design for the Third Generation" fundraising campaign, which concluded in May 1983 raised nearly $120 million in gifts and pledges.

[6] Dallas Hall is the centerpiece for this campus and is the administrative center for the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.

The library and museum are privately administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, while the university holds representation on the institute board.

[68][67] First-year undergraduate students admitted to SMU are automatically reviewed for admissions into the highly selective University Honors Program (UHP).

Generally, first-year students that rank in the top 10% of their incoming class will receive a formal invitation to join the UHP.

Students that do not receive an invitation must have completed at least one full-time semester on campus with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher before formally applying for admissions.

Students are required to take honors courses throughout their time at SMU, and the program culminates with a final senior project or experience.

The Princeton Review also ranked SMU as one of the "Best Western Colleges" and as eighth in "Lots of Greek Life.

[115] The eleven residential commons are Armstrong, Boaz, Cockrell-McIntosh, Crum, Kathy Crow, Loyd, Mary Hay-Peyton-Shuttles, McElvaney, Morrison-McGinnis, Virginia-Snider, and Ware.

Southern Methodist University is home to almost three hundred student organizations, including academic, professional, fraternal, sporting, ethnic themed, religious, service, and political diversity groups.

Student Foundation helps put on popular events such as Family Weekend, the Tate lectures, Celebration of Lights, Homecoming, and Perunapalooza.

Other student media include: As of May 2018, The Daily Campus was placed under the control of the school's journalism department.

In the latter days, it was a digital streaming station and moved from management under the auspices of the Student Media Co. to the department of journalism.

[122][123][124] Southern Methodist University has approximately 43% of its undergraduate student body affiliated with its Greek system.

[132][133] In 2018, Phi Gamma Delta was ordered to cease all organizational activity pending a university investigation into hazing.

This was the second suspension of a Greek Life organization in the 2017–2018 academic year after Kappa Alpha Order was suspended in October 2017.

[135] Kappa Alpha Theta was suspended in 2022 and entered a mutual agreement with SMU through May 2025, after allegations of hazing new members.

New members were pressured to consume large amounts of alcohol on February 10, 2022, and were exposed to other activities that endangered their safety and mental health.

The Society recruits new members, has a house (off-campus), and participates in mixers with fraternities, just as Kappa Alpha Theta did.

[137] SMU also competes annually with Rice University in football for the Mayor's Cup, a traveling trophy that has been created to enhance the Rice-SMU rivalry, which dates back to 1916.

Components included cancellation of the entire 1987 season, a two-year ban from bowl appearances, a two-year ban from television appearances, a limit of seven games, all on road, in the 1988 season, a loss of three assistant coaching positions for two years and a loss of 55 new scholarships over four years.

[139] The approximately 80-member ensemble is nicknamed "The Best Dressed Band in the Land" due to its variety of uniform combinations.