TX · Dorm dimensions
Southern Methodist University Dorm Room Dimensions
Living off campus? See the Southern Methodist University off-campus housing guide
Southern Methodist University has room-dimension data for 10 residence halls. Published room sizes range from about 50 to 879 sq ft, with a median of 417 sq ft. Find exact width × length and square footage for each hall below, then preview your layout in the visualizer.
Armstrong Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| double | — | 64 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 122 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 216 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 417 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 522 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 633 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 833 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →Boaz Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| double | — | 124 sq ft |
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Standard room | — | 916 sq ft |
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Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →Cockrell-McIntosh Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| suite | — | 139 sq ft |
| suite | — | 184 sq ft |
| suite | — | 198 sq ft |
| suite | — | 254 sq ft |
| suite | — | 271 sq ft |
| suite | — | 517 sq ft |
| suite | — | 634 sq ft |
| suite | — | 705 sq ft |
| suite | — | 743 sq ft |
| suite | — | 747 sq ft |
| suite | — | 771 sq ft |
| suite | — | 776 sq ft |
| suite | — | 806 sq ft |
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| suite | — | 924 sq ft |
| suite | — | 951 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →Crum Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| double | — | 64 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 122 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 216 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 417 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 522 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 633 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 833 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →Kathy Crow Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| double | — | 64 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 122 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 216 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 417 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 522 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 633 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 833 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →Loyd Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| double | — | 64 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 122 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 216 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 417 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 522 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 633 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 833 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →Mary Hay/Peyton/Shuttles Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| suite | — | 50 sq ft |
| suite | — | 57 sq ft |
| suite | — | 137 sq ft |
| suite | — | 139 sq ft |
| suite | — | 163 sq ft |
| suite | — | 175 sq ft |
| suite | — | 195 sq ft |
| suite | — | 202 sq ft |
| suite | — | 212 sq ft |
| suite | — | 219 sq ft |
| suite | — | 319 sq ft |
| suite | — | 357 sq ft |
| suite | — | 358 sq ft |
| suite | — | 366 sq ft |
| suite | — | 373 sq ft |
| suite | — | 412 sq ft |
| suite | — | 436 sq ft |
| suite | — | 445 sq ft |
| suite | — | 465 sq ft |
| suite | — | 491 sq ft |
| suite | — | 492 sq ft |
| suite | — | 519 sq ft |
| suite | — | 594 sq ft |
| suite | — | 606 sq ft |
| suite | — | 645 sq ft |
| suite | — | 657 sq ft |
| suite | — | 719 sq ft |
| suite | — | 748 sq ft |
| suite | — | 759 sq ft |
| suite | — | 796 sq ft |
| suite | — | 835 sq ft |
| suite | — | 841 sq ft |
| suite | — | 879 sq ft |
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| suite | — | 944 sq ft |
| suite | — | 981 sq ft |
| suite | — | 994 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →McElvaney Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Standard room | — | 122 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 491 sq ft |
| double | — | 634 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 823 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →Morrison-McGinnis Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| suite | — | 62 sq ft |
| double | — | 68 sq ft |
| suite | — | 81 sq ft |
| suite | — | 127 sq ft |
| suite | — | 181 sq ft |
| suite | — | 194 sq ft |
| suite | — | 271 sq ft |
| suite | — | 453 sq ft |
| suite | — | 462 sq ft |
| suite | — | 474 sq ft |
| suite | — | 705 sq ft |
| suite | — | 755 sq ft |
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| suite | — | 913 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →Ware Commons
| Room type | Dimensions | Size |
|---|---|---|
| double | — | 64 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 122 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 216 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 417 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 522 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 633 sq ft |
| Standard room | — | 833 sq ft |
Design this room before move-in
Lay out your furniture before you arrive.
Open the room visualizer →What on-campus housing costs at SMU
Heads up — this school breaks the usual rules
- Extension cords are banned outright, and Command strips are on the do-not-bring list. Both are staples of every generic dorm checklist. Buy a UL surge protector with an on/off switch, and expect to hang nothing with adhesive.
- Four upper-division buildings use FULL-size 81" x 56" beds — and SMU’s two pages disagree on exactly which four. The housing page names Hilltop Heights, Martin Hall and Thomas House; the packing list instead says “Daniel & Martin House only.” Confirm with Residence Life before buying bedding for any of them.
- ⚠ SMU publishes a bed contradiction. Every first-year Residential Commons lists “85" length, 38" width” while SMU’s own packing list says to buy Twin XL (38" x 80"). The 85" figure almost certainly describes the loftable frame rather than the mattress, but SMU never says so. Buy Twin XL per the packing list.
- Fridge and microwave caps are per ROOM, not per student — one fridge under 3.1 cubic feet and one microwave under 800 watts. Two roommates each shipping a fridge means one gets sent home.
- All traditional halls cost exactly the same. There is no budget dorm at SMU; the only way to pay less is to leave the Commons system for upper-division apartments. Note also that Hilltop Heights charges more for a double than a single — a genuine published inversion.
- SMU is no longer a two-year school. Beginning Fall 2025 students are no longer required to live on campus in their second year — any guide still saying otherwise is out of date.
Buying the standard college checklist here will waste money — check your building first.
| Hall | Style | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| HillCrest Manor Cheapest bed on campus — but upper-division only, so not available to a first-year. | Apartment | $4,223/term 1BR efficiency |
| Service House The cheapest non-apartment upper-division option. | Suite/house | $4,792/term |
| Martin Hall Full-size murphy beds plus a kitchenette. Lofting is unavailable here. | Apartment | $5,123/term |
| Moore Hall A full kitchen with dishwasher; beds are 85" x 38". | Apartment | $5,510/term |
| Residential Commons Armstrong, Boaz, Cockrell-McIntosh, Loyd, Mary Hay, McElvaney, Morrison McGinnis, Peyton, Kathy Crow, Ware, Crum, Shuttles and Virginia-Snider — all one flat rate. Where nearly every first-year lands. Single $7,885. | Traditional/suite | $6,329/term double |
| Hilltop Heights Priciest option, with an in-unit washer and dryer, a garage and full-size beds. Note the double costs more than the single ($7,453). | Townhome apartment | $8,281/term double |
⚠ SMU contradicts itself on its own rates page. The table is headed “Per Term fall/spring” while a note on the same page reads “housing charges are assessed per academic year unless otherwise noted” — a difference that doubles or halves the number. Treat the figures as per term. The meal plan is a separate charge and mandatory for first-years. Also budget a $100 nonrefundable advance housing payment and $97.50 a year for mail service. There is no winter break housing charge. Rates compiled from the university’s published housing rates, August 2026. Always confirm on the official rates page.
Who has to live on campus
First-year students must live in one of the 11 Residential Commons — “all full-time, first-year students are required to live on campus and purchase a meal plan,” typically two semesters. Exemptions are narrow: Dallas-area students living at home, documented disability through DASS, medical need, being 21 or older, or being married. Transfer students have no requirement. Note the change: beginning Fall 2025 students are no longer required to live on campus for a second year.
What the room already includes
Each resident gets a desk, chair, bed and dresser, with some halls adding a pedestal. The rate includes electricity, water, sewer, recycling and trash service plus wired and wireless internet, and laundry is free at every commons and upper-division hall. The Commons have community microwaves, and Boaz and Crum add a community kitchen — there are no kitchens in individual first-year rooms. The upper-division stock is different: Hilltop Heights has a full kitchen with stainless appliances plus an in-unit washer and dryer and an attached garage, Moore and Thomas House have full kitchens, and Martin has a kitchenette with a microwave, stove-top, oven and refrigerator.
Fridge & microwave rules
Bring your own — no fridge is provided in Commons rooms. The caps are strict and per room rather than per person: one small refrigerator no larger than 3.1 cubic feet and one microwave under 800 watts. Roommates must coordinate or one unit gets rejected. Unnecessary in Hilltop Heights, Moore, Thomas House and Martin, which already have kitchens — and the upper-division packing list explicitly bans oversized or secondary fridges and microwaves.
What you cannot bring
Cooking appliances including hot plates, toaster ovens, rice cookers and slow cookers, and any coffee pot with open coils. Air fryers and Instant Pots are not named by SMU, but an Instant Pot is functionally a slow cooker and an air fryer a countertop oven, so both are at high risk. Extension cords are banned outright — only a UL-approved surge protector with an on/off switch. Candles and incense are banned, as are halogen and incandescent bulbs. Command strips and light strips are on the do-not-bring list, along with removable wallpaper, any adhesives, and anything requiring screws or nails. Curtains may be hung with tension rods only. Waterbeds, risers, and bricks or boards for elevating beds are prohibited, and personal lofts are not allowed — university lofts must be requested by 31 July, and lofting is unavailable in Daniel and Martin House. Pets: fish only, in a tank no larger than 10 gallons.
📦 The complete Southern Methodist University dorm packing list →