Points of Pride - College of Health and Human Sciences

  • The online Public Safety and Homeland Security Management master’s degree program is among the nation’s best in quality and affordability. OnlineMasters.com ranks SIU among the top five accredited public and private non-profit institutions for 2019 and CollegeChoice.net ranks the program fifth for least expensive degree.

  • Internships are a primary component of our aviation programs. Three aviation technologies students have been with the Commemorative Air Force during the last two summers as part of maintenance and flight crews.

  • The Special Olympics, the worldwide phenomenon that started in 1968, traces its origins to SIU and the pioneering therapeutic recreation work of William Freeberg. He served as a consultant for the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and assisted Eunice Kennedy Shriver in establishing Special Olympics. Freeberg, the first person to earn a doctorate in recreation, also established Camp Little Giant, the first university-affiliated residential summer camping program for people with physical and intellectual disabilities, at SIU’s Touch of Nature Environmental Center.

  • The college’s Motorcycle Rider Program was a frontrunner in the field, offering free training to riders of all ages. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, it was one of the first such programs in the country and has trained more than 80,000 people to safely ride. Classes are held on campus and at several other locations around the region from March through November for beginning and advanced level riders.

  • SIU’s Rehabilitation Counseling program is among the top 12 graduate school programs in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2021 rankings.  The Best Graduate Schools rankings also include the speech-language pathology program tied for 109, social work tied at 121 and public health tied at 127.

  • In the last four years the aviation technologies program has received more than $330,000 in grants from the Boeing Corp.

  • Faculty, staff and students in the Department of Aviation Technologies celebrated the department’s 50th anniversary in 2015. Earlier in the year, the department received a Gulfstream III C20A jet used to transport military leaders in Europe and Africa by the U.S. Navy.

  • The SIU “Security Dawgs”, a student-registered cyber defense team, has won three Illinois Collegiate Cyber Defense competitions, the last in 2014. The team finished second in 2015 and 2016, and has advanced to Midwest regional competition in eight of the last 11 years.

  • The School of Information Systems and Applied Technologies received the “Southern Illinois Collegiate Cyber Co-op (SI3C) Cyber Scholarship Program” from National Security Agency (NSA) in 2015 to further the study of cybersecurity in southern Illinois through a regional college partnership. Fifteen scholarship recipients each received $1,000 awards for completing the required cyber security exercises and essays during 2015-2016 academic year.

  • With increasing attention on the need for cyber security, the School of Information Systems and Applied Technologies hosts “SIU Cyber Security Day” each spring as a community outreach program. In the last two years, more than 100 people from the university, community colleges, and high school students have participated.

  • The School of Information Systems and Applied Technologies strongly supports “Undergraduate Creative Activity and Research” through two research laboratories – Intelligent Systems and Informatics (ISI) and Smart and Secure Computing (SSC) research laboratories.

  • The “SIU Student Web Development Team” finished third in the nation at the Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP) National Collegiate Conference and Career Fair in April 2017. The team also competed 2015 and 2016. 

  • The nine-time national champion Flying Salukis have finished in the top three in the National Intercollegiate Flying Association championships in each of the last 10 years – winning titles in 2011, 2014 and 2015.

  • The aviation management and aviation flight programs place SIU among a group of universities whose exceptional aviation  programs warranted certification by the Federal Aviation Administration to substantially reduce flight time requirements (500 hour deduction) for graduates interested in becoming airline pilots.
  • SIU is the only university that works with major airlines to fly prospective students to campus for Aviation Career Day events. SIU regularly holds aviation career days featuring SIU alumni now with American Airlines and United Airlines who fly students in from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
  • The aviation flight program in 2021 completed its 12th “NASA Wings” summer camp, one of very few like it in the nation, with funding from the NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation Office.

  • Big things are within reach for students engaged in automotive research. In class, SIU automotive technology students are working with industry to reduce exhaust emissions, improve fuel and energy efficiency, increase safety, and develop new diagnostics of today’s vehicle.

  • The automotive and ground transportation industry recognize the outstanding quality of SIU’s School of Automotive by consistently providing approximately $500,000 of gift in kind support annually.

  • Students in SIU’s automotive technology program are highly recruited for numerous paid corporate internships starting as early as their first semester of their freshman year, providing students an opportunity to experience leadership operations with a major corporation.

  • The college’s Transportation Education Center houses our nationally recognized automotive and aviation programs in a $63 million state-of-the-industry training facility.

  • Ninety percent of SIU Carbondale’s automotive technology graduates on average accept job offers prior to graduation with a starting salary range of $50,000 to $75,000.

  • The SIU automotive technology program has a fleet of over 140 modern training and research vehicles in its inventory for hands-on student learning and testing.

  • SIU's automotive technology program is the only one of its kind that is part of a major research University.  This means that part of our core mission is not only outstanding teaching, but also connecting our students with faculty and corporate partners with our students so they are involved in some of the most advanced technical and business developments occurring in the industry while in school.  At SIU, students are not only learning the cutting edge, they are helping develop tomorrows cutting edge and future.

  • The university’s Bachelor of Science degree program in automotive technology is one of only a few in the nation and the only one in Illinois. The program builds critical thinking and problem-solving skillsets in advanced technological systems and modern business operations for the automotive and ground mobility industry.

  • Sara Diesburg, a 2015 graduate of the interior design program, was one of five national finalists last winter in the Steelcase national student design competition.  There were 800 student entries from universities in the United States and Canada.

  • The college’s online Master of Architecture program is one of four accredited programs available in the United States and graduated a record number of students in December 2017. It is the first online Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure (IPAL) program approved by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards in the U.S.  College Values Online selected the online Master of Architecture program as one of its Top Eight Values in Online Architectural Education in 2016. 

  • Students in the School of Architecture regularly participate in service-related projects while in school. Previous projects include providing design assistance and consultation to families following a deadly 2012 tornado that hit Harrisburg and other parts of the region; a dog park in Ava that is disability friendly; a two-story treehouse for the Dayempur Farm near Carbondale; and a 1,500-square-foot hillside amphitheater that overlooks Little Grassy Lake at SIU’s Touch of Nature Environmental Center.

  • Each spring, student designers present their work at an annual Fashion Design and Merchandising Student Showcase and Fashion Show. The feature event is the presentation of original garment collections from senior fashion designers. Students are responsible for every detail of their collections -- from concept to fashion illustration, fabric sourcing, patterning and construction, model and music selection, and accessory coordination.

  • The criminology and criminal justice program is ranked 37th out of 500 four-year colleges and universities in the nation, according to a recent survey by SuccessfulStudent.org. The ranking puts SIU Carbondale’s program in the top 7 percent in the nation.

  • The criminology and criminal justice program was recognized as one of the 2019 Best Online Bachelor's in criminology programs in the nation by BestColleges.com. The annual ranking highlights accredited, nonprofit institutions who have developed quality online criminology programs that focus on student outcomes.

  • SIU’s Paralegal Studies program is one of only two ABA-approved bachelor’s degree programs in public universities in Illinois.

  • Psychology students have multiple opportunities for mentored research in faculty labs, from the Southern Illinois Twins and Siblings Study to the Restorative Neuroscience Laboratory.

  • The School of Health Sciences is proactive in meeting students’ needs with online programs. Current baccalaureate degree offerings include an online Health Care Management degree, specialization in Radiology Management/Education within the Radiologic Sciences program, a degree completion option in Mortuary Science and Funeral Services, as well as a degree completion option in Dental Hygiene Management/Education.  The school also offers two tracks in the Medical Dosimetry Master’s degree program, an online Master’s degree in Radiologic Sciences (MSRS), and two new online programs that begin with the summer 2016 semester, which include a Master of Health Administration degree (MHA) and Master of Health Informatics degree (MHI).

  • The Elena M. Sliepcevich Symposium, named for a pioneer in health education and public health who served on the SIU faculty from 1973 to 1992, offers a unique learning and networking opportunity for anyone with an interest in child and adolescent health and school health education and guests have included internationally known experts in the field.

  • The Dental Hygiene Clinic provides services through community outreach activities. We host “Give Kids A Smile Day” and “Give Adults A Smile Day” annually, giving students valuable experience. A dental sealant program offers preventive dental services to children from three to 14 years old. 

  • The sonography program in the School of Health Sciences offers free ultrasounds for pregnant women in the region each fall.

  • SIU Carbondale offers bachelor’s degrees in radiologic sciences, mortuary sciences and dental hygiene; the only baccalaureate programs in their specializations in Illinois. The School of Health Sciences also offers one of only five MS degree programs in medical dosimetry obtainable within the United States.

  • The Health Care Management program received certification from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.