Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

What Southern Illinois University, Carbondale does

Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) is a public R1 research university founded in 1869 in Carbondale, Illinois, and operated by the SIU Board of Trustees as part of the SIU System under the State of Illinois. It offers more than 200 undergraduate majors, minors, and specializations, 79 master's degrees, and 40 doctoral degrees, and houses two professional schools: the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield and Simmons Law School in Carbondale. The university serves a distributed student base including in-state, out-of-state, online, international, military/veteran, transfer, and non-traditional students, with a distinctive policy of charging in-state tuition to all students regardless of residency. Its core technology stack is a conventional educational platform built on D2L Brightspace (MyCourses) for learning management, Microsoft Office 365 for productivity, SalukiNet as a student information system, and supplemental safety infrastructure (LiveSafe mobile app, Rave Mobile Safety alert system). The university also operates the state's only baccalaureate dental hygiene program, an aviation program (Flying Salukis, 10-time national champion), and a research portfolio supported by $69 million in external grants in the most recent year.

SIU's business model is a public-sector education revenue model combining tuition and fees (subscription-style, billed per semester with flat in-state rates for all), state appropriations, and external research and service grants. Pricing is a clear competitive lever: in-state tuition for all students, supplemented by a student Green Fee of approximately $10 per semester that funds an internal sustainability grants program (the Green Fund, which has distributed over $3.8M to 368 projects since 2009). The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer student recruitment via undergraduate and graduate admissions, online programs through SIU Online, and off-campus extended campus locations, supported by digital marketing (website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok), on-campus open houses, virtual tours, and group campus visits. Specialized B2B-style channels include the Illinois APEX Accelerator (government contracting assistance for businesses and researchers hosted at SIU) and continuing education/workforce development programs. Recent strategic activity centers on employer and state agency partnerships (Heartland Dental, Illinois Department of Commerce, Illinois Film Office) that expand program offerings and external funding. The university has a stated statewide economic impact of $2.7 billion, reflecting its scale as a regional anchor institution in Southern Illinois.

Name

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Legal name

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Website

https://siu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1869

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is an R1 public research university founded in 1869, offering 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs across multiple colleges and serving in-state, out-of-state, online, and international students at its Carbondale and Springfield campuses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Flagship Public Research Universities (R1/R2) (EDAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Science Camps & Field Programs (Nature, Space, Marine, Geology) (EDAMABAB)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Undergraduate degree programs
• Graduate degree programs
• Online distance learning
• Professional schools

Headquarters

HQ city

Carbondale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: SIU generates revenue primarily through tuition from undergraduate and graduate programs. The university offers in-state tuition rates for all students regardless of residency.
2. External Grants and Research Funding: SIU receives significant funding through external grants for research and service activities. The university reported $69 million in external grants awarded for research and service.
3. Student Fees: Various mandatory fees including a student Green Fee of approximately $10 per semester that funds sustainability projects.
4. Green Fund Grants Distribution: University administers student Green Fee funds to sustainability projects across environmental, social, and financial sustainability pillars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public R1 research university that delivers higher education services through more than 200 undergraduate majors, 79 master's degrees, and 40 doctoral degrees. It supplements on-campus instruction with online programs, off-campus locations, the School of Medicine in Springfield, Simmons Law School, summer youth camps, and workforce training such as the dental hygiene and film/TV production assistant programs. The university also distributes research and sustainability grant funding to faculty, students, and partner organizations.

Product overview

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is an R1 research university offering a comprehensive portfolio of educational products and services. The core offering consists of traditional academic programs across 200+ undergraduate majors, 79 master's degrees, and 40 doctoral degrees, supplemented by online programs through SIU Extended Campus, specialized professional schools (School of Medicine, Simmons Law School), youth summer camps, and workforce development training programs. The university also operates grant programs supporting sustainability initiatives and hosts technology-focused events like SouthernTECH. This is a single-institution educational portfolio rather than a multi-product technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SIU Carbondale Academic Programs
• SIU Online Programs
• SIU School of Medicine
• Simmons Law School
• SIU Summer Camps
• Film and TV Production Assistant Training Program
• Dental Hygiene Baccalaureate Program
• Green Fund Sustainability Grants Program
• SouthernTECH Event Series

Quantifiable outcome

• Extremely high job placement rate for dental hygiene graduates
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Heartland Dental UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2026Coordinated laser certification training program for SIU dental hygiene students. Heartland Dental University covered training costs and provided hands-on instruction using Ultradent lasers for 6 students and 2 alumnae from the Class of 2026.
• Illinois APEX AcceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2026Hosted SouthernTECH 2026 event at SIU's Gower Translational Research Center, providing guidance on government contracting, cybersecurity compliance, and innovation funding for businesses and university researchers.
• RSM FederalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2026National expert Michael LeJeune from RSM Federal provided sessions on AI-driven government sales strategies and cybersecurity requirements at SouthernTECH 2026.
• BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting LLCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2026Jerry Hollister provided innovation funding expertise through SBIR, STTR, OTA, and Broad Agency Announcements programs at SouthernTECH 2026.
• Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic OpportunitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Funded the free 80-hour weekend training program for film and TV production assistants, running over four consecutive weekends with eligible stipends for participants completing all 80 hours.
• The Illinois Film OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Partnered with Illinois Department of Commerce to fund and support the film/TV production assistant training program at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Murray State University: Public regional university in western Kentucky with comparable Carnegie classification, broad program mix, and similar reliance on regional recruitment and state appropriations.
• Wichita State University: Mid-size public R2 research university with notable aviation programs (National Institute for Aviation Research), paralleling SIU's aviation strength; comparable mid-size state regional mission.
• University of Southern Mississippi: Public R1 regional research university with comparable enrollment scale, broad program mix, and similar focus on regional economic development. Useful proxy for peer benchmarking.

Direct peers

• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE): SIU System sister campus serving the St. Louis metro; competes with SIU Carbondale for system resources, brand association, and some transfer students. Most direct institutional peer within the SIU system.
• Northern Illinois University: Public Illinois research university (R2) with similar mix of regional recruitment, broad program portfolio, and dependence on state appropriations. Direct same-state peer in size and student profile.
• Eastern Illinois University: Public Illinois regional university with comparable undergraduate-focused mission, in-state student base, and tuition model. Overlaps with SIU in transfer and non-traditional student recruitment.
• Western Illinois University: Public Illinois regional university of similar scale, serving a comparable lower-population region of the state with similar challenges in out-migration and demographic pressure.
• Illinois State University: Public Illinois university with broad undergraduate and graduate programs, comparable Carnegie classification, and overlapping in-state recruitment market. Closest same-state peer in mission and scale.

Broad incumbents

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Illinois' flagship R1 public research university; competes with SIU for the same in-state applicant pool, faculty talent, and state appropriations, but with significantly larger scale, research output, and brand recognition.

Emerging players

• Western Governors University: Nonprofit online university with flat per-term tuition model that directly attacks SIU's value proposition in distance learning; comparable disruption vector to SIU Online and Extended Campus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SIUC?fbclid=IwAR0PCHCRvx--8h67d7k02CcBTP3_JYWdGvZaREmmnaLEP46kldVzZ9pTpXk
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthernIllinoisUniversityCarbondale
• Instagraminstagram.com/thisissiu
• TikToktiktok.com/@thisissiu?fbclid=IwAR16nSGmq-BSmBqDjt2xxXRHkXA6LKzXF7RfNYAn-AvS8O16MS7A6yGfOeo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-illinois-university

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Illinois University, Carbondale