by our College Data Analytics TeamSouthern Illinois University-Carbondale is a public institution in Carbondale, Illinois enrolling 8,494 undergraduates. It accepts 87% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 62%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #916 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 18%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale ranks #916 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 18%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale was awarded 192 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked SIUC as #916 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
SIUC is also ranked #46 on the Best Colleges in Illinois list.
See all of the rankings for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
With an acceptance rate of 87%, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 37% of students accepted to SIUC submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 470 and 590. Math scores were between 430 and 570.
SIUC received ACT scores from 8% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 18 and 25.
Learn more about Southern Illinois University-Carbondale admissions.
At SIUC, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 11 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is 79%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is 67%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At SIUC the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 62%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
During the most recent academic year, there were 8,494 undergraduates at SIUC.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
The average net price of SIUC is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9,415 | $8,497 | $10,308 | $17,724 | $23,254 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of SIUC, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At SIUC, approximately 45% of students took out student loans averaging $6,633 a year. That adds up to $26,532 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 7.6%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale make around $53,390 per year during the early years of their employment. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale make the most money.
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is an public institution found in Carbondale, Illinois. Carbondale is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Contact details for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901-4512 |
| Phone: | 6184532121 |
| Website: | www.siu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Illinois_University_Carbondale |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/SouthernIllinoisUniversityCarbondale |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/siuc |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 31 majors graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 3,167 | NA |
| Air Transportation | 224 | $44,837 |
| Allied Health Professions | 222 | $80,993 |
| Health/Medical Admin Services | 112 | $39,696 |
| General Psychology | 95 | $31,529 |
| Criminology | 95 | $31,490 |
| Computer Science | 89 | $53,515 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 88 | $48,400 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 79 | $57,372 |
| Social Work | 78 | $32,948 |
4,514 students took at least one online class at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Curious how schools stack up against SIUC? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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