Research Profile
Scientific discovery, scholarly inquiry, and creative achievement are central to the mission of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
In 2025 SIU Carbondale was designated as Research1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Higher Education. We are one of only three Research 1 public Universities in Illinois and the only one in the southern half of the state.
SIU faculty are at work every day - in the lab and in the library, in the field and online, in the classroom and in the studio - to expand knowledge and contribute to society. By working alongside faculty and staff researchers, our students learn the latest methods and information in their field and experience the excitement of discovery. That includes undergraduates, who participate in research as undergraduate assistants, and through various undergraduate research programs (REACH, Susan C. Thrasher Undergraduate Research Fund, and McNair Scholars Program).
Grant Funding Overview
Data from SIU Carbondale’s Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA), which submits grant proposals on behalf of the university, accepts awards, ensures compliance, indicated external grant and contract expenditures for FY 2024 totaled $76.0 million, including $53.9 million in Carbondale and $21.1 million in Springfield.
Top federal funders of grants to SIU Carbondale in FY 2024 were the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Education. Top State funders of SIU Carbondale were the Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
As reported to the National Science Foundation's Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey, R&D expenditures at SIU Carbondale totaled $58.3 million in FY 2023 and $61.5 million in FY24. In February 2025 SIU Carbondale was designated as Research1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Higher Education.