Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Public · Moderately Selective · IL

Photo: Dekkanar (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationIL · Midwest

SettingRural

Undergrads8,494

Student:faculty11:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate40.4%

6-yr grad rate62.4%

Drop-out rate33.2%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$13k

Out-of-state tuition$13k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity35.4%

Gender diversity52.1%

International1.7%

Identity—

Overview

SIU Carbondale is a public research university on the edge of the Shawnee National Forest in far southern Illinois, offering a combination of research-university resources — including its own law school — and genuinely rural, outdoorsy surroundings unlike most Illinois campuses. It is best known for aviation, automotive technology, forestry, and a long-running cinema program that has quietly produced working film and media professionals for decades.

Academics

The aviation program is a standout, training professional pilots on the university's own fleet out of Southern Illinois Airport rather than through outside partnerships, giving students direct flight-hour access baked into the curriculum itself. Automotive technology and forestry are similarly hands-on, applied programs tied to the surrounding land and regional industry, and the Department of Cinema and Photography has a long track record producing working film and media graduates, atypical for a program at a public university this size. The SIU School of Law adds a professional-school dimension the campus's rural setting doesn't immediately suggest. The overall curriculum style favors applied, practice-based learning over large lecture formats.

Campus & student life

The Shawnee National Forest setting gives Carbondale students easy access to hiking, lakes, and rock climbing at spots like Giant City State Park and the Little Grand Canyon — recreation rarely available this close to a research university of this scale. Student life mixes a traditional residential population with a strong outdoors and recreation culture tied to the surrounding wilderness, a genuine point of contrast with SIU's more urban Illinois peers. Saluki athletics, competing in the Missouri Valley Conference, follow a typical mid-size public-university pattern without dominating campus identity the way outdoor recreation does.

Getting in

Admission is generally accessible, with the aviation program in particular requiring specific coursework and often additional screening or cost considerations given the expense and licensing track involved in flight training. The process is credentials-based rather than essay-driven, consistent with SIU's role as a public research university serving a broad Illinois population, and law school admission follows the standard LSAT-based process typical of law schools nationally.

After graduation

Aviation graduates move into regional and commercial airline careers with real flight hours already logged, a practical head start over programs that rely on outside flight schools. Cinema graduates have gone on to real film and television industry careers despite the program's location far from traditional media hubs. Forestry and automotive technology graduates find strong placement with regional employers and federal land-management agencies given SIU's location and applied focus.

Worth knowing

The combination of a real research university and genuinely rural, forested surroundings is unusual — Carbondale students get lab and library resources alongside a lifestyle closer to a small outdoors town than a typical college city. The aviation program's cost is worth understanding upfront, since flight training carries real additional expense beyond standard tuition. Winters and the isolated location mean social life leans heavily on campus and outdoor activity rather than a nearby big city.

siu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate86.9%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 900–1160 · ACT 18–25

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying