Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

SIU in Carbondale offers online degrees and certificates at the undergraduate and graduate levels that students can complete 100% remotely. 

Students can complete online bachelor's degrees in majors such as hospitality and tourism and information technology. SIU's online bachelor's degree in radiologic sciences ranks in the top 10 on our list of the best online radiology degrees.

About half of its online bachelor's degrees are degree completion programs. This means to be considered for enrollment, you must transfer with about half of the credits required to graduate. The time it takes to graduate with a bachelor's degree can be cut in half by entering a degree completion program. SIU offers these online programs in majors such as accounting, aviation management, and healthcare management.

SIU is known for being a research university. It is classified as having High Research Activity by the Carnegie Foundation. It is among the top 4% of higher education research institutions in the U.S., and undergraduate research programs include the Research-Enriched Academic Challenge (REACH) and the McNair Scholars Program. According to the most recent data (2016), SUI received over $76 million in research grant funding. Additionally, SIU became a member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in 2015 — the education arm of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Yes, employers respect SIU's online degrees because of the school's favorable accreditation status. SIU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Receiving accreditation means that SIU has sound and ethical accounting practices and that its academic programs are high quality and rigorous. It also means you can transfer credits from one accredited school to another.

Across OnlineU's site, only accredited institutions are included.

According to College Scorecard, SIU's bachelor's degrees in engineering — such as its online electrical and industrial management and applied engineering degrees — provide the highest earnings. For example, graduates with an electrical engineering degree earn median annual salaries of approximately $76,000, while engineering graduates earn at least $62,000. 

OnlineU's proprietary Salary Score ranks colleges by how much their alumni earn compared to graduates with the same degree from across the country. SIU has a bachelor's degree Salary Score of 43 out of 100, and it scored 33 for its master's degree programs.

It's not difficult getting into SIU. College Scorecard shows that it accepts 92% of applicants. 

While SIU does not require entrance exams, it will consider them during the application process if students wish to submit them. The students that SIU accepts generally have combined SAT scores between 930 and 1180 and ACT scores between 20 and 27.

SIU's admission requirements are comparable to other colleges and universities. In general, requirements for first-year applicants include the following:

• An application 
• A $40 application fee
• Official high school transcripts 
• Official college transcripts, if transferring credits
• Military transcripts, if applicable

You must also meet one of the following criteria:

• A minimum 2.75 GPA
• A ranking in the top 10% of your graduating class
• A score of at least 23 on the ACT or 1130 on the SAT

Individual degree programs may have additional requirements. Applying to college always requires planning to ensure you have enough time to get what you need to submit together.

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