Innovative Spirit

The SMU Cox School of Business is a pioneer in developing innovative programs that combine the latest business theory with real-world best practices. By anticipating—even shaping—the changing business environment, we enable our students to stay on the leading edge of business. At Cox, you’ll enjoy dynamic opportunities to learn, grow and advance in your life and career.

Here’s just a sample of Cox School innovations:

• The SMU Cox School introduced one of the first Master of Science in Business Analytics programs in the country. Our program is unique in that it combines the work of the Marketing and ITOM Departments to provide a Business and an IT view of Analytics. We bring in over 50 different companies working with analytics to meet with students and help them understand the business analytic roles and opportunities in a variety of companies including Consulting companies, Fortune 500 companies, marketing analytics firms, and companies across a variety of industries (healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, oil and gas, athletics, etc.).
   
• The SMU Cox School of Business provides specialized training in leadership and communication through the Edwin L. Cox Business Leadership Center (BLC), where students establish lifelong careers and build leadership character.
  
  While master's programs traditionally focus on classroom lessons, textbooks, and case studies, the Business Leadership Center develops graduate students by fostering conversations and addressing leadership challenges through Seminars, Executive Roundtables, Applied Leadership Programs, and Coaching.
   
• The Cox School’s Office of Diversity works to create greater diversity in the graduate student body by supporting corporate diversity recruiting, promoting diversity scholarship opportunities and developing funding for diversity programs.
   
• Cox launched the BBA Business Scholars Program, which admits highly qualified high school students directly into the Cox School. Since the program’s inception, where as the average SAT score for enrolled scholars was 1307 current BBA scholars have an average SAT score greater than 1400 coupled with very challenging curricula and high grade point averages.
   
• The Cox School’s Executive MBA Class of 2006 traveled to Cuba, marking the first-ever Cox School trip to the country. The group of 80 students and administrators attended presentations on the Cuban economy, Cuba-U.S. bilateral relations, the Cuban public health system, and Cuban business and agriculture.
   
• The Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship was one of the nation’s first five entrepreneurship programs, founded in 1970.