How to Apply to Economics at SMU: Economics in Dedman College, a B.A. and Several B.S. Degrees (Finance Applications Is the Most Popular), Entering as a Pre-Major and Declaring Later, for Domestic, International (Including China) and Transfer Applicants

Economics at Southern Methodist University (SMU) is taught by the Department of Economics in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. The department says it attracts the most undergraduate majors in Dedman College and the second most at SMU. This guide follows SMU’s web pages and is organized for U.S. domestic applicants, international applicants, applicants from China and transfer students. Business and computer science have their own articles on this site; they are mentioned only where they overlap.

Note: SMU’s detailed degree requirements and the conditions for declaring an economics major are in its course catalog, a third-party hosted system we did not access. Those details are therefore marked “not on the pages we read”; check the SMU catalog and the economics department website.

1. Economics degrees at SMU

• Which degrees: the department’s “Majors and Minor” page says it offers “four majors and a minor”, but the same page lists five degrees: B.A. in Economics, B.S. in Economics, B.S. with Finance Applications (B.S.F.A.), B.S. with Management Information Applications (B.S.M.I.A.) and B.S. in Mathematical Economics (B.S.M.E.). The B.A./B.S. page again says “four undergraduate majors”. The website does not reconcile the count; check the catalog.
• B.A.: designed for students who want a liberal arts education with a broad scope. B.A. students typically double-major (occasionally triple-major) in fields such as political science, sociology, history, public policy and international studies, and many go on to law or public administration.
• B.S.: more specialized training in economics and a foundation for graduate study in business, economics or law. The department page says the B.S. requires Calculus II and econometrics; the B.A./B.S. page says it requires more courses in mathematics, statistics and econometrics.
• B.S.F.A. (finance applications): the department calls it its most popular degree plan. It adds a concentration of three classes in the economics of financial markets, and the curriculum includes accounting and computer science along with calculus and statistics.
• B.S.M.I.A. (management information applications): combines economics, econometrics and management information systems for areas important to big data.
• B.S.M.E. (mathematical economics): a joint program of the Mathematics and Economics Departments for students planning analytical careers or graduate study in the mathematical sciences.
• Minor and special courses: an economics minor (declared through the eMinor form in my.SMU); special-approval programs are the Economics Internship Course (ECO 4185), Independent Study (ECO 4390) and Departmental Distinction (ECO 4397 and 4398).
• 4+1 master’s: eligible economics undergraduates can begin graduate coursework and finish an M.A. in Applied Economics after graduation. The page asks for, or being on track for, a 3.0 GPA in economics coursework and a 3.0 overall GPA before enrolling in 6000-level courses; students take three graduate courses (nine hours) as undergraduates, must finish the bachelor’s with at least 129 hours, and formally apply to the M.A. typically in their last senior semester.
• STEM designation: not on the economics pages we read.

2. Admission: enter as a pre-major, then declare

• Choosing a major when applying: the website says first-year applicants can indicate their two areas of study of most interest and work with an academic advisor on arrival. Apart from business (you must indicate interest on your application to be considered for direct admission to the Cox School of Business) and art, film (BFA), dance, music and theatre (audition or portfolio), all first-year SMU students are accepted as “pre-majors” in Dedman College, regardless of intended major. Economics is not a direct-admit category.
• Declaring economics: the department says students must first meet a set of requirements before formally declaring an economics major; those requirements are in the catalog, which we did not read. To start: prospective students contact the Admissions Office (ugadmission@smu.edu); students without a declared major declare with their advisor; students adding or switching to economics contact their advisor. The department FAQ adds that the process differs for pre-majors and declared majors, and recommends the “On Track” calculator for planning a double major. The economics department no longer advises students; find your advisor in my.SMU.
• Capacity or GPA threshold: not on the pages we read.
• Prerequisites are firm: the FAQ says the department allows no exceptions to prerequisites (its example: you cannot take MATH 1309 at the same time as ECO 3301).

3. Prerequisites and course sequence

• High school courses: the website says applicants should have completed at least 4 units of English, 3 units of math (algebra I and II, geometry), 3 of social science, 3 of science (including 2 lab science units) and 2 consecutive units of a foreign language. No extra high school requirement specific to economics appears on the pages we read.
• University course sequence: the pages we read mention ECO 3301, ECO 3302 (a prerequisite for some advanced electives), ECO 3355 Money and Banking, 4000-level ECO 43xx electives, MATH 1309 and OREM 1360, but the full sequence (principles, intermediate micro and macro, calculus, statistics, econometrics) is in the catalog, which we did not read. The department pages say the B.S. requires Calculus II and econometrics; finance applications requires calculus, statistics, accounting and computer science; featured courses for management information applications are ECO 4350 Introductory Econometrics, ECO 4341 Strategic Behavior and OREM 1360 Introduction to Management Science.
• AP and IB credit: the pages we read do not say which exam scores replace economics or calculus courses; check the catalog or the admission office. The website does say dual-credit courses taken in high school must come from an accredited school, earn at least a C- and be on an official college transcript; correspondence-course credit is not accepted.
• Foreign language: the university-wide University Curriculum requires proficiency in a second language (four semesters of college-level proficiency, or improving by two semester levels).

4. Deadlines, materials and fees

• Rounds and deadlines: the first-year process page gives November 1, 2026 for Early Action (nonbinding) and Early Decision I (binding), and January 15, 2027 for Regular Decision (nonbinding) and Early Decision II (binding). ED I decisions come in mid-December and ED II decisions by March 1; Early Action admits reply by the national May 1 deadline.
• Platforms: Common Application, ApplyTexas, SMU’s online application or Coalition (SCOIR).
• Materials: application, personal essay (generally 250–650 words), official high school transcript sent through an electronic service or by a school official (not emailed by the student), counselor recommendation (required on the international checklist), optional teacher recommendation, activities résumé and optional SAT or ACT scores.
• Testing: fully test-optional. No preference is given either way, but without scores everything else matters more. SMU superscores the SAT and ACT and accepts self-reported scores (codes: ACT 4174, SAT 6660). The admitted-student profile for the Class of 2028 (international checklist page): unweighted GPA mid-50% 3.54–3.94 on a 4.0 scale, ACT superscore 31–34, SAT superscore 1370–1500.
• Review: holistic; the website says there is no absolute grade cutoff, and competitive applicants are generally in the top quarter of their high school class.
• Application fee: the website is inconsistent: the requirements page says $60 for undergraduate applications and the 2026–27 Bursar tuition page also lists a $60 non-refundable application fee, while the international and transfer pages say the application fee is waived for all first-year and transfer undergraduate students. Check the application page.
• Deposit: for admitted Early Decision students the Early Decision page says a nonrefundable $685 Orientation, Housing and Matriculation deposit and the requirements page says $800 ($400 orientation, $300 matriculation, $100 housing deposit). They differ; check.
• Costs (2026–27): full-time (12–18 hours) tuition is $31,868 per fall or spring term, with $2,046 for each credit hour beyond 18; part-time (1–11 hours) is $2,662 per credit. Mandatory fees include a $4,040 flat general student fee per semester for 12 or more hours, a $140 full-time health center fee per semester (not residing in a residence hall) and health insurance of $2,115 each for fall and spring. Housing and meals are extra, and some courses carry course fees.

5. U.S. domestic applicants

• In-state vs out-of-state: the tuition page lists one rate with no state split; no in-state preference or guaranteed admission is described. Texas residents can use ApplyTexas.
• Aid: U.S. citizens and permanent residents file the FAFSA (school code 003613) for federal and state aid and the CSS Profile (code 6660, $25) for SMU-funded awards. The financial aid page gives priority deadlines of November 15, 2026 (ED I, EA) and February 1, 2027 (ED II, RD); the Early Decision page gives a FAFSA priority deadline of February 15 for all applicants. They differ; check. SMU says it cannot guarantee that full need is met and builds packages from grants, loans and work-study.
• Scholarships: applying by your chosen deadline automatically considers you for SMU academic awards, most of which can be combined but cannot exceed tuition and fees. The financial aid page says 3 out of 4 first-year students receive grants or scholarships, while the economics major page says 2 out of 3 receive them, averaging $45,383. The two ratios differ.

6. International applicants

• Who counts: an international student is anyone who needs a visa to live and study in the U.S.; international students attending a U.S. high school or university follow the standard process, and U.S. citizens attending school abroad follow the international process. Your counselor is determined by your high school or university.
• Rounds and materials: same deadlines (November 1 and January 15). The international checklist asks for the application, a personal essay, an official high school transcript, optional SAT/ACT, official English proficiency scores, a counselor recommendation (required), an optional résumé and an optional teacher recommendation.
• English proficiency: required for applicants whose high school abroad does not have an English-based (not bilingual) curriculum. The requirements page lists TOEFL 90 with at least 20 in reading and listening and 24 in writing and speaking; Duolingo 115; PTE 60; and a line reading “ACT: recommended score of 6.5” with 6.5 subscores (the scale looks like IELTS, but the page says ACT; check). The international checklist says SMU accepts Duolingo, TOEFL and IELTS, and gives Class of 2028 averages of TOEFL 103 and IELTS 7.7. Scores are not required for students from a high school with an English-based curriculum, an SAT critical reading and writing score of 580 or higher, or an ACT writing score of 25 or higher; some applicants may qualify for a waiver, so ask your counselor. Applicants who are admissible without a sufficient score may get a conditional offer requiring a retake or SMU’s Intensive English Program.
• Visa and proof of funds: the website has Form I-20 pages; the proof-of-funds requirements are not on the pages we read.
• Scholarships and aid: all applicants, regardless of citizenship, are automatically considered for academic merit scholarships with no separate application; most are stackable but cannot exceed tuition and fees. Need-based financial aid is available only to U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
• Cost notes: international students pay a $125 International Student Service Fee each semester and, enrolled in one or more credit hours, must join the Student Health Insurance Plan unless the Insurance Department grants a waiver.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the SMU pages we read do not say whether the Gaokao is considered, and there is no China-specific page; not published. Contact the admission office (ugadmission@smu.edu) or your regional counselor.
• Transcripts and credential evaluation: the high school transcript must be sent by a school official or an electronic service; how Chinese-language transcripts should be translated or certified is not on the pages we read. (Transfer students’ foreign college transcripts require a professional evaluation; see Section 8.)
• English: if your high school does not use an English-based curriculum, submit scores as in Section 6.
• International curricula: the financial aid page mentions International Baccalaureate Scholars among its awards; AP and IB credit conversions are not on the pages we read.

8. Transfer students

• Eligibility: at least one full semester after high school graduation and 24 transferable credits with a 2.7 GPA; applicants with fewer than 24 are judged on the rigor of both high school and college records. SMU welcomes about 500 transfer students a year.
• Deadlines (the page shows no year; check it is for 2027 entry): fall applications open November 1, with April 1 as the priority admission and transfer-scholarship deadline and August 1 as the final deadline; spring applications open August 1 and are due November 1; summer applications are due June 1.
• Materials: official transcripts from all colleges (including dual credit and international coursework) and a high school transcript showing a graduation date or a GED; optional SAT/ACT (only if transferring with fewer than 24 credits), résumé, essay and recommendations.
• International transfer students: foreign coursework needs a professional course-by-course evaluation. SMU lists these agencies: International Academic Credential Evaluators, International Education Evaluations, Josef Silny & Associates, SpanTran, and World Education Services through SMU’s custom application. The evaluation must include an English translation, confirmation the institution is recognized by the home country’s ministry of education, credits, grading system, course levels and course-by-course descriptions, and syllabi are required; the applicant pays. A high school transcript not in English must be translated. If two college-level English courses have not been completed with a B or higher, submit TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo results; an InitialView interview is encouraged for non-native speakers but not required.
• Credit: college-level courses from regionally accredited institutions with a grade of at least C- transfer; remedial and technical/workforce education (WECM) courses do not. There is no cap on transferable credits, but you must complete 48–60 hours at SMU, and if you transfer more than 60 you and your advisor decide which apply. SMU offers an equivalency tool and transfer pathway guides for the Common Curriculum and specific majors; we did not read the economics guide.
• Transfer scholarships: for students with at least 24 transferable credits and a 3.3 GPA.
• Moving into economics: the pages we read give no GPA or prerequisite requirement for transfers into economics. (Cox School of Business requirements are separate: a 3.7 transferable GPA, with microeconomics, macroeconomics and calculus recommended.)

9. Internships, research and careers

• Internship credit: ECO 4185 is for economics majors and needs approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies; it is one hour of pass/fail free-elective credit, the internship and the course must be in the same semester, at least 100 hours of work are required, and the DocuSign application is due at least a week before classes start.
• When courses are offered: ECO courses run in fall, spring and summer (June and July); none in Jan term or May term.
• Career services: Hegi Career Center, SMU 12twenty and the ECO Career Blog. The department page says economics majors’ early-career median wages match finance majors’, and that its own survey of graduates shows higher figures; reported salaries come only from students who chose to disclose.
• Awards: the department gives the Wallace F. Lovejoy Award, the Josef Hadar Award and the Award for Excellence in Economics to senior economics majors, each with a monetary prize.

Checklist

U.S. domestic applicants:

• Apply by November 1, 2026 (EA, ED I) or January 15, 2027 (RD, ED II) via the Common App, ApplyTexas, the SMU application or Coalition; essay of roughly 250–650 words
• The SAT and ACT are fully optional; high school minimums are 4 English, 3 math, 3 social science, 3 science and 2 foreign language
• Enter as a Dedman pre-major and declare economics after arriving; check the catalog for the conditions
• For aid, file the FAFSA (003613) and CSS Profile (6660)

International applicants (including China):

• Same timeline; counselor recommendation required; if your school is not English-curriculum, submit TOEFL (90), Duolingo (115), PTE (60) or IELTS results
• Ask admissions how the Gaokao may be used; need-based aid is limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, but academic scholarships are automatic
• Budget the $125 International Student Service Fee each semester and the student health insurance plan

Transfer students:

• 24 transferable credits and a 2.7 GPA; fall priority April 1, final August 1; foreign coursework needs a course-by-course evaluation

Sources: Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics; Undergraduate majors; Economics B.A., B.S.; Economics with finance applications; Economics with management information applications; Undergraduate FAQs; Internships and careers; Course information; 4+1 master’s; Admission requirements; First-year application process; Early Decision; International students; International checklist; Transfer; Transfer application process; Transfer FAQs; Financial aid; Cost and payment; 2026–27 tuition; 2026–27 mandatory fees. The degree requirements are in SMU’s course catalog, which we did not read; check SMU’s website.