Southern Illinois University School of Law

What Southern Illinois University School of Law does

Southern Illinois University School of Law (operating as Simmons Law School) is a public, ABA-accredited law school constituent of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, founded in 1972 with classes commencing in 1973 and the first class graduating in 1976. The school delivers a 90-credit-hour, three-year full-time Juris Doctor program, supplemented by 3+3 accelerated and concurrent degree pathways, legal clinics, moot court, a student-edited law journal, and a Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program in Belleville, IL. Its curriculum is distinguished by a guaranteed clinical or field placement for every JD student and a 35-hour pro bono requirement, the first such mandate in Illinois. The school enrolls approximately 246 students (as of October 2021) and has produced more than 4,600 alumni, including 200+ sitting state and federal judges, with a footprint across all 50 U.S. states and 10 countries.

The business model is a hybrid of state appropriations, tuition and fees, restricted philanthropic contributions, and a non-refundable $500 seat deposit. The school markets affordability as a core differentiator — explicitly stating that students should not need private loans — a position enabled by State of Illinois funding combined with an institutional scholarship program. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, consistent with its status as a state university unit. Strategic recruitment focuses on prospective law students interested in public interest, government, and private practice careers, with explicit pipeline outreach to HBCU and minority-serving institution students via a 2022 MOU with Stillman College and a Goldman Sachs-funded Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute. The go-to-market is sales-led through the LSAC centralized application portal, with on-campus visits, alumni newsletters, and earned media as supporting channels. The school's core technology footprint is limited to exam administration (Examsoft lockdown software); no AI/ML capabilities are present in the product stack.

Name

Southern Illinois University School of Law

Legal name

Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School

Website

https://law.siu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Southern Illinois University School of Law (Simmons Law School) is a public, ABA-accredited law school in Carbondale, Illinois, offering a three-year JD program with guaranteed clinical placement and a no-private-loan affordability proposition to approximately 246 students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

ABA-Accredited JD-Granting Law Schools (EDAHAIAA)

Keywords

• Legal education
• Juris doctor program
• Law school
• Experiential legal training
• Public interest law

Headquarters

HQ city

Carbondale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from tuition and fees for JD program. Financial support from State of Illinois combined with scholarships for both incoming and current students allow graduates to have average debt load below national law school average.
2. Seat Deposits: $500 seat deposit required to reserve admission, payable in lump sum or two payments of $250. Non-refundable unless student matriculates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SIU Simmons Law School delivers an ABA-accredited Juris Doctor (JD) program consisting of 90 credit hours over three years of full-time, day-time study with fall admission only. The school supplements classroom instruction with required experiential education through legal clinics, moot court, externships, and pro bono service, and offers supplemental academic pathways including concurrent degree programs and a 3+3 accelerated bachelor's-plus-JD track.

Product overview

SIU Simmons Law School offers a unified JD Program as its primary educational product, supplemented by experiential learning components including legal clinics, moot court, and the Law Journal. The school provides concurrent degree programs and a 3+3 accelerated pathway as additional academic options. All programs are ABA-accredited and delivered through the Lesar Law Building on the Carbondale campus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• JD Program (Juris Doctor) A post-baccalaureate 90-credit hour law degree taking three years to complete, fully accredited by the American Bar Association and a member of the Association of American Law Schools, designed for prospective attorneys.
• Concurrent Degree Programs Dual-degree programs allowing students to earn a JD combined with another graduate degree.
• 3+3 Accelerated Law Program An accelerated pathway allowing qualified students to complete their bachelor's degree and law degree in six years.
• Legal Clinics Hands-on legal clinics where students represent clients under faculty supervision, serving residents across a 13-county area in southern Illinois.
• Moot Court Program Competition-based program where students develop oral advocacy and brief-writing skills through moot court competitions.
• Law Journal Student-edited scholarly journal providing opportunities for legal research and publication.
• Experiential Education Programs including public interest externships, judicial externships, pro bono requirements, and the Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program that guarantee JD students hands-on legal experience.

Quantifiable outcome

• #16 ranking in US News Law Schools With the Most Graduates in Public Interest Law

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stillman CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2022MOU signed January 26, 2022 between Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Stillman College (HBCU in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) to help students from the historically Black college enroll and earn a degree from SIU Simmons Law School. Aims to diversify the legal profession by providing pathway for underrepresented populations through summer pre-law program and application support.
• Armstrong TeasdaleminorOthersSt. Louis law firm visited during Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute field trips. Graduate Deidre Powell ('21) is an associate at the firm's litigation practice group.
• Illinois State Police Forensic InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program; located in Belleville, IL alongside other campus tenants including Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission and Southwestern Illinois College police training academy.
• Southern Illinois Law Enforcement CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program, providing training opportunities for law students alongside other nonprofit organizations.
• Southwestern Illinois CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program; hosts police training academy alongside law school students in Metro East location.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• University of Kansas School of Law: Public ABA-accredited law school serving a similar regional applicant pool with a comparable state-supported cost structure. Operates a JD-centered program with experiential learning offerings similar in scope to Simmons.
• Marquette University Law School: Private Jesuit ABA-accredited law school in Milwaukee with a comparable enrollment footprint and JD-focused curriculum. Competes for similar Midwestern applicants but with a higher tuition profile.
• Washburn University School of Law: Public ABA-accredited law school in Topeka, Kansas with a comparable enrollment size and regional mission. Targets a similar cost-conscious, in-state applicant base and offers a primarily JD-focused curriculum.
• Drake University Law School: Private ABA-accredited law school in Des Moines with a similarly sized program and a public-interest orientation that competes with SIU Simmons for mission-driven Midwestern applicants.
• University of Missouri School of Law: Public ABA-accredited law school in a similarly sized Midwestern college town, with a comparable mix of state-resident and regional applicants. Its affordability positioning and JD focus closely parallel SIU Simmons.
• Northern Illinois University College of Law: Public, ABA-ac JD-granting law school in DeKalb, Illinois, with a comparable enrollment scale and regional mission. Competes directly with SIU Simmons for in-state applicants and operates a similar JD-only, full-time model.
• University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School: Another ABA-accredited Illinois law school that merged into the University of Illinois Chicago system, competing for similar in-state applicants and offering a comparable JD-focused curriculum. It is the closest Illinois public-institution peer to SIU Simmons.

Broad incumbents

• Loyola University Chicago School of Law: Larger, longer-established private ABA-accredited law school in Chicago. It is a broader incumbent peer competing for the same Illinois applicant pool as SIU Simmons but with deeper employer ties and a wider program portfolio.
• University of Iowa College of Law: Public ABA-accredited law school with a stronger national ranking and broader alumni network. Operates as an incumbent peer drawing applicants from the same Midwest region as SIU Simmons.
• Indiana University Maurer School of Law: Public ABA-accredited law school in Bloomington, Indiana, with a much larger and more established program. Competes for Midwestern applicants at a higher national rank, making it an incumbent peer in the same regional market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxg0UKjTvs9zseu8sjTo4Wg
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Southern-Illinois-University-School-of-Law/6769329370
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-illinois-university

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 School of Law