SIU Carbondale Welcomes You | Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs | SIU

Greetings!

Southern Illinois University is a comprehensive research university that offers a vast array of excellent undergraduate and graduate academic programs on one of the most attractive campus settings in the United States. Students from every state in the union and 112 different countries come to Carbondale to learn, interact, and pursue their future goals and directions. We pride ourselves on being a national research university with the heart of a small college. While there are many positives about the University, we are particularly proud of the following:

1. SIU is ranked in the top 4% of 20,000 worldwide universities by the Center for World University rankings that ranks the top 2,000 institutions out of the 20,000 institutions worldwide based on quality of education and faculty, alumni employment, and research performance. Research performance is measured by total number of papers, number of papers in top-tier and influential journals, and citations. We rank globally in the top 1,000 of 20,000 institutions and at 773 worldwide, and at 185 nationally. The only Illinois public institutions above us are University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and U of I Chicago. This is also true for the national rankings by the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education. 

2. SIU is ranked as a “High Research Activity” university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education; one of only 91 public universities to hold this prestigious title.  

3. SIU is one of 105 universities in the nation to have both a Simmons Law School and a School of Medicine.  

4. SIU is a large family with over 11,500 students and over 250,000 graduates located throughout the world. We are ranked #44 out of 4,000 universities and colleges for the number of alumni we have produced. We just turned 150 years old (1869-2019)!  

5. SIU is well known for its diverse student population. The University has a history of success and commitment to faculty, staff and student diversity, individuals with disabilities, and international students. We received the first-ever Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award from INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine.  

6. SIU has a large and varied library with award-winning collections in many areas. It is currently ranked in the top 115 of all academic research libraries in the United States.  

7. SIU's faculty represents a talented group of individuals with exceptional academic and professional credentials. Over 80% of full-time instructional faculty holds the doctorate or terminal degree in their field.  

8. SIU faculty and staff generated over $48 million in grants and contracts. We rank #3 in Illinois and #198 nationally by the National Science Foundation among public universities for research expenditures.  

9. SIU offers degrees in 88 undergraduate programs and 110 graduate and professional programs. Many of our programs are nationally recognized and certified by professional and academic accrediting bodies.  

10. We award over $215 million dollars in financial aid and scholarships annually to SIU students. Financial help is awarded to nearly 80% of our students. 

SIU has developed an excellent strategic plan that provides an exciting blue print for the future direction of the university. Our goal is to become one of the best public, student-responsive research universities in the United States. We encourage you to learn more about Southern Illinois University by viewing our Fact Book, View Book, and websites for each academic college and school, and by taking time to visit our beautiful campus and to let our students, faculty, and staff tell you about your future university.