Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Southern Illinois University Carbondale – Illinois

Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU Carbondale) is a public R1 research university and the flagship institution of the Southern Illinois University system. Founded in 1869 as Southern Illinois Normal College, the university awarded its first degrees in 1874 and attained university status in 1943. Its postgraduate programmes began in 1950.

SIU Carbondale currently has approximately 11,800 students, of whom 8,500 are undergraduates and 3,200 are postgraduates. Students come from all 50 US states and over 100 different countries. The university comprises eight faculties and professional schools, including Engineering, Business and Analytics, Humanities, Health and Human Sciences, Agriculture, Science and Technology, Law and Medicine. It offers more than 120 undergraduate, 80 postgraduate and 40 doctoral programmes, as well as professional programmes in Law and Medicine.

SIU Carbondale is particularly renowned for its engineering programmes, the SIU School of Medicine—founded in 1970, which provides healthcare services to the community alongside its educational activities—its prestigious School of Law, and its nationally recognised “Flying Salukis” aviation team. The College of Business and Analytics features a Bloomberg-equipped trading floor and the student-managed Saluki Fund, valued at $3.8 million.

Classified as having ‘Very High Research Activity’ (R1), SIU collaborates with leading organisations such as the Argonne and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, NASA, the US Geological Survey and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. With a 1,133-dönüm campus at the foot of the Ozark Mountains, 100 miles south-east of St Louis, the university offers the atmosphere of a charming university town with its historic buildings, Campus Lake, Thompson Woods and arboretum-like landscapes.

Student life is very lively; There are over 300 student clubs, 17 fraternities and 10 sororities, as well as a strong student union and successful competitive groups such as the flight team, the debating society and the Saluki Student Investment Fund. Accommodation options include halls of residence on the East and West campuses, as well as flats for married, postgraduate or returning students.

The athletics teams, known as the Salukis, compete in NCAA Division I and are mostly members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The university has teams in football, basketball, golf, tennis and many other sports. The football team won the NCAA Division I-AA national championship in 1983; the men’s gymnastics team, meanwhile, has won numerous national titles. The elegant Saluki dog, the university’s mascot, has represented the university since 1951.

Featured Episodes: Engineering, Medicine, Law, Business and Analytics, Aviation

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U.S. News & World Report (2025): Ranked 288th amongst US national universities

Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2025): ranked between 801 and 1000

Location: Carbondale, Illinois, United States of America

Year of Establishment: 1869 (the first lectures were held in 1874)