College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

ILMedium public institution · Overall rank #246 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Southern Illinois University Edwardsville #246 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois, where Health Professions and Business account for the largest shares of degrees. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — than to what it cannot explain.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year earnings figure is measured while most graduates are in work rather than in school. The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell students complete below the overall rate, and mobility is well above average. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and the degree mix leans toward health professions and business.

SIUE at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
97.5%
Six-year completion[2]
57.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$65,199

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$11,116
Median student debt[4]
$20,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$21,500

SIUE rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois, enrolling 8,750 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the top fifth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (83rd percentile).

The university admits 97.5% of applicants, a rate above the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 75.7% return for a second year and 57.0% finish within six years.

Both figures are above the peer medians of 73.7% and 49.1%. An estimated 39.0% of entrants arrive as transfers, so the six-year rate, which tracks only first-time, full-time students, describes a portion of the student body rather than the whole.

The four are spread out. Mobility is the strongest (88th percentile), while access is the weakest (58th percentile).

Affordability (76th percentile) and return (67th percentile) sit between them. The shape is a broad-access public campus where the strongest pillar and the weakest sit thirty points apart.

Mobility is the strongest pillar for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, while access is its weakest. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, mobility stands in the 88th percentile and affordability in the 76th percentile.

Return is in the 67th percentile, compared with the 58th percentile for access. The stronger mobility and affordability readings sit beside a more modest access result.

Among enrolled students who submitted tests, the middle half of SAT scores ran from 950 to 1,190. The ACT range was 20 to 27.

Undergraduates receiving Pell Grants make up 32.7% of the student body. Azimuth ranks Southern Illinois University Edwardsville #613 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients finish within six years at 46.9%. That is 10.1 percentage points below the overall completion rate (57.0%).

Azimuth ranks the university #170 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,294 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

SIUE rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#246
Illinois#11
Midwest#37

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 88
Access & reach
National percentile: 58
Affordability
National percentile: 76
Return on investment
National percentile: 67

Top-ranked majors

  1. Geography and Cartography#5
  2. Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General#11
  3. Chemistry#62

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 / SIUE briefing

SIUE cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the published cost of attendance is $28,919, while the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $14,889. That after-aid figure gives a more practical starting point for families receiving aid.

Published in-state tuition and fees are $12,922, matching out-of-state tuition and fees of $12,922, and room and board are $14,490. Average financial aid savings against the sticker price total $14,030.

The peer median net price is $14,068 at comparable institutions (same type and size), so this university's average is above by $821. Azimuth places Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's affordability pillar in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid cuts the published cost substantially, though the average after-aid price remains above the peer median.

The published cost of attendance at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $28,919. Azimuth ranks the university #337 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 $8,483, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $11,116, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $24,684. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $16,201.

Aid covers about 49% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the overall to $14,889. That figure is $821 above the median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The published tuition and fees are $12,922, with room and board adding $14,490. Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $20,500 in federal student loans.

That is $729 below the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions. 87.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow through the federal Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $21,500. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$11,116

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at SIUE

Federal borrowing is widespread at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, although typical completer debt sits below the peer benchmark. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $20,500.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $21,229, with the university's median $729 below that level. For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $21,500.

At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, graduates earn about $8,294 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Median earnings four years after completion are $65,199, in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios tied to the program mix place earnings at $46,501 in the downside case and $88,204 in the upside case; the typical scenario matches the median earnings figure.

Median federal student debt at completion is $20,500, $729 below the $21,229 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

Above-expected earnings and debt below peers point in the same direction, even as the earnings scenarios span a broad range.

Parent PLUS borrowing is separate from student borrowing: parent borrowers have a median of $21,500. The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$20,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$21,500

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$233/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$273/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 / SIUE briefing

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

At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the return picture combines above-peer earnings with earnings beyond expectations. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $8,294 more than the model expects for similar students. That earnings-beyond-expectations result, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 80th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,341. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $953.

Median earnings are $65,199 four years after completion, in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301; the university sits $7,898 above it. The peer comparison and modeled expectation point in the same direction.

For graduates entering the workforce, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has median earnings of $65,199 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places those earnings in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The measure draws on an earnings cohort of 3,050 completers. On earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, graduates earn about $8,294 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix put the downside at $46,501 and the upside at $88,204, with the typical scenario aligning with the observed median. An estimated 28.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The scenario range and higher-than-expected earnings describe a favorable workforce picture with room for different program paths.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $65,199. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $57,301, so the university sits $7,898 above that mark.

Azimuth ranks Southern Illinois University Edwardsville #489 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,294 more than the model expects for similar students.

The gap lands at the 80th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,341.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $953. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,337.

The program mix tilts toward health and business, with engineering also claiming a share of degrees. Earnings scenarios estimated from that mix range from $46,501 on the downside to $88,204 on the upside.

An estimated 28.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Program choice brings a broad range of modeled earnings outcomes at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The downside earnings scenario is $46,501 and the upside scenario is $88,204, both modeled from the program mix rather than observed groups.

Across 32 programs with published earnings data, the higher end includes Computer Science at $106,082, Electrical Engineering at $99,325, and Computer Engineering at $94,494 in median earnings four years after completion. Those program results show why the earnings scenarios span widely.

At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the debt picture begins below comparable institutions: borrowers who completed with federal student loans had median debt of $20,500. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $21,229, placing the university below it by $729.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $8,294 more than the model expects for similar students.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate parent-borrower population, had median debt of $21,500. Debt below the peer median and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$7,341
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$953
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$8,294

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 / SIUE briefing

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

With an admission rate of 97.5%, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville admitted most applicants in the reported entering class. That rate is above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size), so the published outcome sits higher than its peer midpoint.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
97.5%
Approximate lower endpoint
950
Reported average
1100
Approximate upper endpoint
1190

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 / SIUE briefing

What are the largest majors at SIUE?[12]

Program-level earnings range from technical fields with higher medians to large, broad majors with more moderate results. Computer Science reports median earnings of $106,082 four years after completion and 72 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #107 nationally among bachelor’s programs in its field. Nursing records $83,867 and 479 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #141 nationally in its field.

Business Administration and Management shows median earnings of $65,403 with 300 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #170 nationally within its field. Psychology has $48,951 in median earnings and 177 degrees awarded; its Azimuth national field rank is #217.

The higher technical and health figures alongside the more moderate broad-major figures make the return picture depend substantially on field.

The top-ranked program is Geography and Cartography. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has 24 ranked bachelor’s programs in Azimuth’s field rankings among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The bachelor's degree mix at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is anchored in Health Professions, which accounts for 22.3% of degrees awarded, followed by Business at 17.0% and Engineering at 10.9%. Across 32 programs with published four-year earnings data, 24 carry an Azimuth national rank.

The largest single program is Nursing, at 479 degrees awarded, with Business Administration and Management second at 300 and Psychology third at 177. The highest-ranked program is Geography and Cartography, which ranks #1 in Illinois within its field, from 23 degrees awarded.

Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies ranks #11 nationally and #1 in Illinois within its field, with 60 degrees awarded. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $106,082 four years after completion, from 72 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the largest program, is also among the best-paid, with a median of $83,867 and a state rank of #2 in Illinois. The pattern is a regional public university where the largest programs are not the highest-ranked, and the highest-earning programs are not the largest.

The best-paid programs are smaller and more technical than the fields that dominate the degree count. 18.1% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, a share that sits alongside the largest concentration, Health Professions, and a Business concentration.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 479 degrees awarded
$83,867
Business Administration, Management and Operations 300 degrees awarded
$65,403
Psychology, General 177 degrees awarded
$48,951
Communication and Media Studies 117 degrees awarded
$52,466
Biology, General 114 degrees awarded
$60,059
Criminal Justice and Corrections 95 degrees awarded
$57,915

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 / SIUE briefing

How does SIUE serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the clearest strength at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Azimuth places its mobility pillar in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 57.0%, while Pell recipients complete at 46.9%, below the overall rate by 10.1 percentage points. Graduates earn about $8,294 more than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that measure in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Above-peer completion and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Entry is broadly available at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: it admits 97.5% of applicants and enrolls 8,750 undergraduates. Pell Grants go to 32.7% of undergraduates, and an estimated 39.0% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the access pillar stands in the 58th percentile. These figures show broad admission alongside multiple routes into the undergraduate body.

06 / SIUE briefing

What colleges are similar to SIUE?[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 SIUE.

Admissions peerMaryville University of Saint Louis95.1% admitted
Comparison with SIUE
MeasureSIUEMaryville University of Saint Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,199$84,871+$19,672 vs SIUE
Average annual net price$14,889$22,066+$7,177 vs SIUE · higher cost
Admission rate97.5%95.1%
Explore Maryville University of Saint Louis →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Illinois SpringfieldNearby option · IL
Comparison with SIUE
MeasureSIUEUniversity of Illinois Springfield
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,199$63,235-$1,964 vs SIUE
Average annual net price$14,889$9,833-$5,056 vs SIUE · lower cost
Admission rate97.5%85.9%
Explore University of Illinois Springfield →
Higher-earnings alternativeOregon Institute of Technology$87,138 earnings
Comparison with SIUE
MeasureSIUEOregon Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,199$87,138+$21,939 vs SIUE
Average annual net price$14,889$15,706+$817 vs SIUE · higher cost
Admission rate97.5%95.0%
Explore Oregon Institute of Technology →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Illinois Springfield$9,833 average net price
Comparison with SIUE
MeasureSIUEUniversity of Illinois Springfield
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,199$63,235-$1,964 vs SIUE
Average annual net price$14,889$9,833-$5,056 vs SIUE · lower cost
Admission rate97.5%85.9%
Explore University of Illinois Springfield →
Similar profileFerris State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with SIUE
MeasureSIUEFerris State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,199$64,721-$478 vs SIUE
Average annual net price$14,889$8,624-$6,265 vs SIUE · lower cost
Admission rate97.5%91.4%
Explore Ferris 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