Bachelor's · Dallas, Texas

Is Computer Science at Southern Methodist University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $104,800; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $135,973; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $20,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $169k (likely $169k – $169k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $99k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.8 years (likely 2.3–3.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $602k (likely $437k – $812k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.77M (likely $1.37M – $2.23M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 83%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26