Southern Methodist University

Updated May 9, 2026
Country
United States
Founded
1911
Type
Education
ROR
042tdr378
FWUR Rank#1,443 globally (of 4,980)#236 in United States
FWUR rank

Where the rankings agree — and where they don't

Methodology in active development · v0.1
Consensus 32.1/ 100Trimmed Mean v0.15 of 6 agenciesDivergent agency signal

But the 5 rankings disagree about this institution.

Range: rank 351–3,051 (2,700 positions apart).

Headline composite trimmed: dropped CWUR (#389, most generous score) and THE (#351, harshest score).

THE
351[src]of 398
CWUR
389[src]of 1,929
ARWU
701[src]of 996
QS
1,001[src]of 1,462
SCImago
3,051[src]of 4,699
FWUR
1,443of 4,980

Distance from FWUR composite

Diagnostic only

Per-agency absolute distance from the trimmed-mean composite, in score space (0–100). Display only — does not feed back into the composite or any agency-quality measure. Lower means the agency reads this institution closer to the consensus.

  • QS1.7
  • ARWU3.6
  • CWUR46.5
  • SCImago1.7

Why the divergence?

Research-oriented agencies
32.4ARWU + SCImago

Research output, citations, and bibliometric coverage.

Reputation-sensitive agencies
21.8QS + THE

Academic and employer reputation surveys.

Hybrid agencies
79.9CWUR

Mixed pillars including outcome and balance metrics.

Cycle alignment: agencies' latest publications mix years (2013/2025/2026). Treat year-over-year deltas with care.

FWUR is a transparent synthesis of six published rankings — not a direct measurement of educational or research quality.

Try other agency subsets

Adjust the weights below to see how the consensus shifts. Custom views are not the canonical FWUR rank.

Pick your agencies (Mode C)

Toggle agencies to see how the composite + rank shift. The default is all six.

Default (Trimmed Mean, all 6) · #1,443 · 32.1
= canonical FWUR rank (toggle agencies off to customize)

Custom views are not the canonical FWUR rank.

Re-rank with your priorities

Slide the weights below. The composite, dimension scores, and methodology label update live.

Research33%
Research output and citations · ARWU + SCImago
32.4
Reputation33%
Academic and employer surveys · QS + THE
21.8
Outcome33%
Employability and balanced pillars · CWUR + RUR
79.9
Default (Trimmed Mean) · 32.1 / 100

Source observations · inputs to FWUR rank

CWUR2025
#389
cwur.org
RUR
SCImago2025
#3051
scimagoir.com

Ranking trajectory · 2005–2024

SCImago fell #1469 → #2728 (2009–2024)

2024
#1#100#200#300#400#50020052009201420192024YEAR 2024FWUR▲18#1389QS▼98#1001THENo dataARWU#701CWUR▼14#357RURNo dataSCImago▲462#2728
Show as table (accessible fallback)
YearQSTHEARWUCWURRURSCImago
2005#401
2006#401
2007#403
2008#402
2009#402#1469
2010#1495
2011#601#1738
2012#601#401#1782
2013#651#351#401#1908
2014#171#1962
2015#651#142#2190
2016#701#142#2183
2017#701#601#132#2248
2018#701#701#481#2053
2019#651#501#315#1301
2020#701#501#299#3050
2021#701#601#314#2774
2022#801#701#326#3403
2023#903#701#343#3190
2024#1001#701#357#2728

Peer comparison cohort

Same country

#InstitutionStudentsAvg rank
1The Catholic University of America1428.0
2Lehman College1416.0

Global peers

#InstitutionCountryStudentsAvg rank
1University of OxfordUnited Kingdom5.0
2Tsinghua UniversityChina17.0
3The University of MelbourneAustralia27.0

Where these numbers come from

Licensing: Each ranking agency licenses its full data and methodology under terms specific to that agency. FWUR exposes per-cycle headline ranks under fair-use citation; for sub-indicator scores or commercial use, refer to each agency's licensing page. ADR-040 §결정 4 forbids constructing per-pillar "FWUR Teaching/Research/Reputation Score" naming until ≥4 of 6 agencies grant sub-indicator licensing.

Sources