Points of Pride

  • SIU Carbondale is a doctoral research university enrolling students from all 50 states and approximately 100 countries. We offer about 100 undergraduate degrees, with more than 170 specializations, and over 100 minors. Our programs also include about 80 master’s degrees and more than 30 doctoral degrees, in addition to professional degrees in law and medicine.

  • In 2022, The Princeton Review included SIU Carbondale among its “Best of the Midwest” — just 23% of the nation's four-year colleges.

  • In 2019, SIU Carbondale joined other state institutions as a hub in the Illinois Innovation Network, an initiative to harness the research expertise of Illinois universities to drive the state’s economic growth.

  • SIU ranks in the top 4.2 percent of 20,000 institutions of higher learning in the Center for World University Rankings for 2020-2021. SIU ranks No. 837 in the world and No. 194 nationally.
  • Noting the university’s “unique out-of-the-box passions and thinking,” progressive attitude toward students with a variety of learning backgrounds and Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classification as a “high research” institution, SIU Carbondale is No. 8 among College Gazette’s “10 Best ‘Hidden Gem’ Public Universities in the U.S.”

  • SIU has strong federal research partnerships with agencies including the Argonne and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NASA.

  • SIU has earned national recognition from Strive for College for excellence in service to traditionally underserved students. The university, home of the First Saluki Center serving first-generation students, was named a Strive College Partner for 2020, the inaugural year of the honors program. Institutions of higher learning must meet or exceed specific benchmarks for inclusion, diversity, affordability, completion and outcomes to receive the accolade.

  • SIU Carbondale reaffirmed a longstanding commitment to sustainability by becoming one of more than 800 colleges and universities across the nation dedicated to addressing climate change through research and action in signing the Second Nature Climate Commitment in February 2020.

  • The university supports several externally funded interdisciplinary initiatives for student research training and education, including from the highly competitive National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates. In 2018, SIU received funding for another three years through that program.
  • SIU students are very involved in campus life and the community, donating thousands of service hours each year to various organizations, programs and activities through the Center for Service-Learning and Volunteerism, spring break trips, and the massive “Big Event,” held for a fourth time in 2021.
  • The university is among the top 5 percent of all U.S. higher education institutions for research. 
  • SIU Carbondale is one of 54 colleges and universities to earn national recognition for its economic development work in the region from The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The designation as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University, awarded in 2015, is valid for 10 years. 
  • The university is the “Eclipse Crossroads of America.” A total solar eclipse took place on Aug. 21, 2017, and will again on April 8, 2024. 
  • The university's Bachelor of Science degree program in fermentation science is one of only a handful in the nation and the only one in Illinois. The interdisciplinary program prepares students for careers in fields ranging from production and quality control for alcoholic beverage manufacturers to fermented foods, such as cheese, sauerkraut and bread. The program is housed at the Fermentation Science Institute, a teaching, testing and research space at McLafferty Annex on the campus' far west side.
  • The university earned recognition for the 15th consecutive year, jumping to the 34th overall position, on the Military Times 2021 Best for Vets: Colleges rankings.
  • SIU Carbondale recently was named a Top 10 Military Friendly School among Tier 2 research institutions for 2022-23 in G.I. Jobs.com. The No. 8 composite ranking includes admissions and orientation, culture and commitment; financial aid assistance, and graduation and career ratings.
  • The 2017 Sustainable Campus Index, released in November 2017 by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education notes that Salukis have kept more than one million single-use bottles out of the waste stream through installation and use of campus water refill stations and other efforts.
  • The Salukis field 15 intercollegiate teams that compete primarily in the Missouri Valley Conference. The athletics program features some of the nation’s leading facilities.
  • The “Green Fund” has awarded over $2.1 million to 181 diverse sustainability projects since its inception in 2009. The fund was the result of a student-led initiative that collects approximately $10 per semester via the “green fee.” 
  • SIU Carbondale earned national recognition as a 2020 Tree Campus Higher Education program, the sixth consecutive year the Arbor Day Foundation has honored the university for its commitment to effective forest management. The university is one of just 364 campuses nationwide to earn the title for 2020, announced in early 2021.
  • SIU in 2021 earned an "silver" designation as a "Bicycle Friendly University" from the League of American Bicyclists. The program recognizes universities and colleges that provide bicycle-friendly environments through campus policies, bicycling education and share programs, clubs and more. The designation last for five years; SIU was initially recognized in 2016.
  • The university is recycling campus concrete and asphalt, crushing it for use in future building projects while also salvaging metal associated with that material. The new recycling program provides a 30- to 40-percent cost savings and reduces landfill waste.
  • The university’s “For the Community” website is a one-stop connection to all of the educational, recreational and entertainment opportunities open to the public as well as special programs, exhibits, and facilities and services available for public use.
  • The university’s longstanding commitment to sustainability earns national recognition with a silver ranking from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). The Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education uses a point-based benchmarking system that considers sustainability efforts in four comprehensive areas: academics, planning and administration, operations, and engagement.
  • SIU Carbondale is an affiliate of the Argonne National Laboratory Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, a federally funded project to generate new battery technology for the future.  Several of our faculty members use this and facilities at other national laboratories such as Oak Ridge to conduct their research.
  • SIU Carbondale maintained its status as a Carnegie-classified, (doctoral) higher research activity university with access to world-class facilities including ecosystem analysis, mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, genomics, nuclear magnetic resonance, aquaculture, wildlife analysis, energy development, hydroacoustics and computer engineering.

Office of Innovation and Economic Development

  • In 2015, the Illinois Small Business Development Center assisted 34 businesses with startup or expansion, securing $4 million in financing, and helped businesses hire or retain 309 jobs. The office also provided individualized business consulting services to 529 clients and delivered 37 training seminars to 629 participants.
  • The Office of Economic and Regional Development fostered student entrepreneurship in a variety of ways, including: sponsoring participation by four students in University Innovation Fellows, a national program that embeds innovation and entrepreneurship into college education; assisting 11 students with Saluki Ventures start-up business activities; completing six university class and students’ projects; and supporting the Saluki Entrepreneur Corps, an SIU student organization that focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation. In addition, the office assisted Southern Illinois high school CEO programs, promoting retention and innovation within youth entrepreneurs. 
  • Celebrated the 15th anniversary of the SIU Research Park, a non-profit corporation that promotes technology and enterprise within the park and throughout Southern Illinois, and the 31st anniversary for the Small Business Development Center, which provides services and programs to entrepreneurs and small businesses.