College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

ILMedium public institution · Overall rank #243 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Southern Illinois University-Carbondale #243 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is a public university in Carbondale, Illinois, with a degree mix led by Education, Business, and Engineering Technologies. Mobility is its strongest , at well above average.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that to the factors it measures, which add, and part to what it cannot explain, which subtracts.

Return is above average, the weakest of the four pillars. What families pay after aid stretches across a wide range: the lowest income band averages well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell students complete at a rate that trails the overall cohort, and mobility is well above average. The admission rate is near the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

SIU at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
86.9%
Six-year completion[2]
62.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$61,484

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$10,308
Median student debt[4]
$21,543
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$19,500

SIU rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale enrolls 8,494 undergraduates at a public university in Carbondale, Illinois. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university falls in the top third (83rd percentile).

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale admits 86.9% of applicants, while the peer median—the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size)—is 85.9%. Full-time first-year students return at a rate of 66.8%, against a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 62.4%, while the peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is 49.1%. Because that rate counts only first-time, full-time students, it describes a minority of the people who study here; an estimated 42.4% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four pillars stretch across a wide band, with mobility the strongest (88th percentile) and return the weakest (55th percentile). Access and affordability sit between them (75th and 79th percentiles), so no single pillar dominates the profile.

Azimuth ranks Southern Illinois University-Carbondale #243 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions, with mobility as the strongest pillar in the 88th percentile. Affordability follows in the 79th percentile, and access sits in the 75th percentile.

The return pillar is the weakest, in the 55th percentile, though all four pillars land above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale fell between 900 and 1,160. For students who submitted ACT scores, the middle 50% ranged from 18 to 25.

38.8% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access at this public university in Carbondale, Illinois. Azimuth ranks the university #372 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 48.5%, which sits 13.9 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate. The gap is a direct measure of how outcomes for these students compare to the entering cohort as a whole.

Mobility is the strongest pillar here, with Azimuth ranking Southern Illinois University-Carbondale #176 for mobility. Graduates earn about $2,808 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the university's high mobility standing.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

SIU rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#243
Illinois#10
Midwest#36

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 88
Access & reach
National percentile: 75
Affordability
National percentile: 79
Return on investment
National percentile: 55

Top-ranked majors

  1. Fire Protection#1
  2. Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas#7
  3. Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians#7

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / SIU briefing

SIU cost & financial aid[6][7]

After grants and scholarships, the average aid recipient at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale pays $13,297, which is $771 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The published cost of attendance is $28,329, which includes in-state tuition and fees of $13,334 and room and board of $12,341.

Financial aid reduces the published cost by $15,032 on average. Azimuth ranks the university #301 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is $28,329. Azimuth ranks the university #301 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $9,415, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $10,308, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $23,254. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $13,839.

Aid covers about 53% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the across all bands to $13,297. That is $771 below the median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,543 in federal student loans, $314 above the peer median of $21,229. 86.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $19,500 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $245 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$10,308

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at SIU

Borrowing is common at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale: 86.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and the median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $21,543. That median sits above the $21,229 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $314, a narrow gap.

For a separate population of parent borrowers, the median Parent PLUS loan is $19,500.

The investment picture at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is one of solid, middle-of-the-road earnings paired with a debt load that is typical for its peer group. Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $61,484, at the 55th percentile nationally.

Graduates earn about $2,808 more than the model expects for similar students, placing the gap at the 65th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $44,965 in a downside case to $85,380 in an upside case, with $61,484 as the typical outcome.

On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $21,543, which is $314 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $245 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $19,500. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $245.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,543
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$19,500

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$245/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$248/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / SIU briefing

SIU career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale earn about $2,808 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 65th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,934.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $3,126. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,734.

Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $61,484, which is above the peer median of $57,301 among comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,183. The median sits in the 55th percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 55th percentile. The earnings picture is mixed: graduates beat the model's expectation, but the institution's own contribution subtracts from that advantage, leaving the overall return pillar near the middle of the pack.

Federally aided graduates of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $61,484 four years after completing a degree. That median is $4,183 above the $57,301 figure for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The earnings cohort includes 3,807 completers. The median sits in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,808 more than the model expects for similar students. That gap falls in the 65th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $44,965 on the downside to $85,380 on the upside, with a typical outcome of $61,484. An estimated 25.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $61,484, at the 55th percentile. That is $4,183 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $2,808 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 65th percentile. Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show a downside of $44,965 and an upside of $85,380, with the typical scenario at $61,484.

Azimuth ranks the university #657 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Of the earnings beyond expectations, the model attributes $5,934 to the factors it measures, a share that adds to expected earnings.

It attributes $3,126 to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,734.

The university's program mix leans toward technical and applied fields. An estimated 25.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

The earnings scenarios point to a wide spread: the downside scenario is $44,965 while the upside scenario reaches $85,380. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, Fire Protection graduates earn $108,135 four years after completion, from 36 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $91,299, and Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians at $87,442.

Graduates of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale earn about $2,808 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $21,543, which runs above the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt would mean a monthly payment of $245. The average net price for aid recipients—what they pay after grants and scholarships—is $13,297, which is below the peer median of $14,068.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $19,500. A low average net price and earnings that exceed the model's expectation point the same way for a student who finishes. The debt figure is close to the peer median.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$5,934
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$3,126
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$2,808

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / SIU briefing

SIU acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale admits 86.9% of applicants, a rate close to the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The public university extends an offer to most who apply.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
86.9%
Approximate lower endpoint
900
Reported average
1055
Approximate upper endpoint
1160

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / SIU briefing

What are the largest majors at SIU?[12]

At Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, the largest bachelor's program, Air Transportation, is also one of the highest-earning fields, with a median of $81,394 four years after completion on 150 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #10 nationally and #1 in Illinois.

Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians awarded 89 degrees and shows a median of $79,299. Azimuth ranks that program #13 nationally and #1 in Illinois.

Criminology reaches $52,916 four years after completion on 75 degrees awarded. It ranks #31 nationally and #2 in Illinois.

Psychology awarded 74 degrees and reports a median of $48,728, placing #248 in its field. These technical and social-science programs illustrate a wide range of earnings outcomes across fields at the university.

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale publishes earnings data for 57 bachelor's programs, 35 of which hold an Azimuth national rank. The largest program, Air Transportation, awarded 150 degrees and ranks #10 nationally, with a median of $81,394 four years after completion.

Subject-Area Teacher Education is the second-largest, with 120 degrees awarded and a median of $67,961, while Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians awarded 89 degrees, ranks #13 nationally, and shows a median of $79,299. Among the university's highest-earning programs, Fire Protection stands out with a median of $108,135 and 36 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $91,299 with 26 degrees awarded.

The bachelor's degree mix at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is spread across several applied fields, with no single family dominating. Education accounts for 10.9% of degrees awarded, followed by Business at 9.1% and Engineering Technologies at 8.3%.

The university has 35 ranked programs and 57 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Air Transportation, at 150 degrees awarded, with Subject-Area Teacher Education next at 120 and Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians at 89.

The strongest programs by national rank include both technical and education fields. Azimuth ranks Fire Protection #1 in Illinois within its field, and graduates earn a median of $108,135 four years after completion.

Subject-Area Teacher Education ranks #7 nationally and #1 in Illinois within its field, and graduates earn a median of $67,961. Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians ranks #7 nationally and #1 in Illinois within its field, with median earnings of $87,442.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Fire Protection, where graduates earn a median of $108,135 from 36 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of strength in technical fields, with the largest programs also among the best-ranked.

The highest earnings sit in the technical programs, while the social science programs, though large, post earnings closer to $48,728. Four-year earnings for fields where graduates commonly continue to graduate study understate later trajectories. Across all fields, 20.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Air Transportation 150 degrees awarded
$81,394
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 120 degrees awarded
$67,961
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians 89 degrees awarded
$79,299
Criminology 75 degrees awarded
$52,916
Psychology, General 74 degrees awarded
$48,728
Accounting and Related Services 67 degrees awarded
$70,478

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / SIU briefing

How does SIU serve students from different backgrounds?

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale earns its strongest pillar in mobility, where Azimuth places the university in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 62.4%, while Pell recipients complete at 48.5%, below the overall rate by 13.9 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $2,808 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 65th percentile nationally. A graduation rate that clears the peer median of 49.1% and earnings that beat the model coincide: the university shows strong completion alongside higher-than-expected earnings.

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale draws a wide range of students: Pell Grant recipients make up 38.8% of its 8,494 undergraduates, and an estimated 42.4% arrive as transfers or part-time students. The public university admits 86.9% of applicants, close to the median for comparable institutions, which is 85.9%.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 75th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, reflecting the university's broad reach in Carbondale, Illinois.

06 / SIU briefing

What colleges are similar to SIU?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with SIU.

Admissions peerWebster University86.2% admitted
Comparison with SIU
MeasureSIUWebster University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,484$75,697+$14,213 vs SIU
Average annual net price$13,297$27,047+$13,750 vs SIU · higher cost
Admission rate86.9%86.2%
Explore Webster University →
Higher-admission alternativeSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville97.5% admitted
Comparison with SIU
MeasureSIUSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,484$65,199+$3,715 vs SIU
Average annual net price$13,297$14,889+$1,592 vs SIU · higher cost
Admission rate86.9%97.5%
Explore Southern Illinois University Edwardsville →
Nearby alternativeSoutheast Missouri State UniversityNearby option · MO
Comparison with SIU
MeasureSIUSoutheast Missouri State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,484$51,502-$9,982 vs SIU
Average annual net price$13,297$15,882+$2,585 vs SIU · higher cost
Admission rate86.9%73.5%
Explore Southeast Missouri State University →
Higher-earnings alternativeSan Jose State University$89,614 earnings
Comparison with SIU
MeasureSIUSan Jose State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,484$89,614+$28,130 vs SIU
Average annual net price$13,297$13,760+$463 vs SIU · higher cost
Admission rate86.9%84.6%
Explore San Jose State University →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price
Comparison with SIU
MeasureSIUCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,484$62,833+$1,349 vs SIU
Average annual net price$13,297$3,103-$10,194 vs SIU · lower cost
Admission rate86.9%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →
Similar profileCleveland State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with SIU
MeasureSIUCleveland State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,484$61,322-$162 vs SIU
Average annual net price$13,297$14,764+$1,467 vs SIU · higher cost
Admission rate86.9%91.3%
Explore Cleveland State University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings