The student population at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is 11,790 (8,553 undergraduate and 3,237 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 5,502 (31.82%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 12,923 where 11,790 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 2 year-over-year increases and 7 decreases. It peaked at 17,292 students in 2016 and was lowest at 11,107 in 2023. Overall, enrollment dropped from 17,292 to 11,790 students, a net loss of 5,502 (31.8%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 17,292 | 13,031 | 7,078 | 5,953 | 4,261 | 2,136 | 2,125 |
| 2016-17 | 15,987 -1,305 | 12,182 -849 | 6,646 -432 | 5,536 -417 | 3,805 -456 | 1,937 -199 | 1,868 -257 |
| 2017-18 | 14,554 -1,433 | 10,987 -1,195 | 5,887 -759 | 5,100 -436 | 3,567 -238 | 1,798 -139 | 1,769 -99 |
| 2018-19 | 12,817 -1,737 | 9,552 -1,435 | 5,193 -694 | 4,359 -741 | 3,265 -302 | 1,594 -204 | 1,671 -98 |
| 2019-20 | 11,695 -1,122 | 8,466 -1,086 | 4,540 -653 | 3,926 -433 | 3,229 -36 | 1,492 -102 | 1,737 66 |
| 2020-21 | 11,366 -329 | 8,299 -167 | 4,316 -224 | 3,983 57 | 3,067 -162 | 1,453 -39 | 1,614 -123 |
| 2021-22 | 11,266 -100 | 8,147 -152 | 4,189 -127 | 3,958 -25 | 3,119 52 | 1,444 -9 | 1,675 61 |
| 2022-23 | 11,107 -159 | 8,000 -147 | 3,978 -211 | 4,022 64 | 3,107 -12 | 1,462 18 | 1,645 -30 |
| 2023-24 | 11,359 252 | 8,195 195 | 4,008 30 | 4,187 165 | 3,164 57 | 1,459 -3 | 1,705 60 |
| 2024-25 | 11,790 431 | 8,553 358 | 4,090 82 | 4,463 276 | 3,237 73 | 1,451 -8 | 1,786 81 |
| Average | 12,923 | 9,541 | 4,993 | 4,549 | 3,382 | 1,623 | 1,760 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 9,541 where 8,553 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 13,031 | 11,371 | 6,124 | 5,247 | 1,660 | 954 | 706 |
| 2016-17 | 12,182 | 10,554 | 5,668 | 4,886 | 1,628 | 978 | 650 |
| 2017-18 | 10,987 | 9,455 | 5,000 | 4,455 | 1,532 | 887 | 645 |
| 2018-19 | 9,552 | 8,088 | 4,317 | 3,771 | 1,464 | 876 | 588 |
| 2019-20 | 8,466 | 7,150 | 3,776 | 3,374 | 1,316 | 764 | 552 |
| 2020-21 | 8,299 | 6,796 | 3,431 | 3,365 | 1,503 | 885 | 618 |
| 2021-22 | 8,147 | 6,754 | 3,414 | 3,340 | 1,393 | 775 | 618 |
| 2022-23 | 8,000 | 6,715 | 3,251 | 3,464 | 1,285 | 727 | 558 |
| 2023-24 | 8,195 | 6,868 | 3,250 | 3,618 | 1,327 | 758 | 569 |
| 2024-25 | 8,553 | 7,360 | 3,413 | 3,947 | 1,193 | 677 | 516 |
| Average | 9,541 | 9,541 | 4,164 | 3,947 | 9,541 | 828 | 602 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 3,382 where 3,237 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 4,261 | 2,589 | 1,281 | 1,308 | 1,672 | 855 | 817 |
| 2016-17 | 3,805 | 2,364 | 1,193 | 1,171 | 1,441 | 744 | 697 |
| 2017-18 | 3,567 | 2,422 | 1,245 | 1,177 | 1,145 | 553 | 592 |
| 2018-19 | 3,265 | 2,298 | 1,111 | 1,187 | 967 | 483 | 484 |
| 2019-20 | 3,229 | 2,227 | 1,047 | 1,180 | 1,002 | 445 | 557 |
| 2020-21 | 3,067 | 1,879 | 850 | 1,029 | 1,188 | 603 | 585 |
| 2021-22 | 3,119 | 1,883 | 830 | 1,053 | 1,236 | 614 | 622 |
| 2022-23 | 3,107 | 2,098 | 948 | 1,150 | 1,009 | 514 | 495 |
| 2023-24 | 3,164 | 2,120 | 938 | 1,182 | 1,044 | 521 | 523 |
| 2024-25 | 3,237 | 2,239 | 970 | 1,269 | 998 | 481 | 517 |
| Average | 3,382 | 3,382 | 1,041 | 1,171 | 3,382 | 581 | 589 |
The percentage of white students is 61.54%. The percentage was 61.85% 10 years ago and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale still has a high percentage of white students. 2.35% of enrolled students is Asian and 15.74% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 8.97% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 61.85% to 61.54%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.86% to 2.35%. Black student enrollment decreased from 16.71% to 15.74%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 7.32% to 8.97%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.5867 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.5831 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 37 | 321 | 2,890 | 1,265 | 13 | 10,695 | 482 |
| 2016-17 | 33 | 317 | 2,509 | 1,224 | 14 | 10,039 | 477 |
| 2017-18 | 39 | 318 | 2,182 | 1,131 | 12 | 9,121 | 476 |
| 2018-19 | 30 | 297 | 1,832 | 1,020 | 8 | 8,138 | 382 |
| 2019-20 | 40 | 278 | 1,564 | 961 | 11 | 7,557 | 329 |
| 2020-21 | 26 | 285 | 1,554 | 961 | 11 | 7,301 | 295 |
| 2021-22 | 23 | 280 | 1,613 | 949 | 11 | 7,181 | 324 |
| 2022-23 | 26 | 280 | 1,665 | 897 | 12 | 7,084 | 335 |
| 2023-24 | 28 | 281 | 1,701 | 947 | 10 | 7,152 | 372 |
| 2024-25 | 27 | 277 | 1,856 | 1,058 | 14 | 7,255 | 417 |
| Average | 31 | 293 | 1,937 | 1,041 | 12 | 8,152 | 389 |
2,272 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 19% of total students. The number of online students has increased 8.45% since 2018. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 17,292 | 0 | 2,837 | 14,455 |
| 2016-17 | 15,987 | 0 | 3,235 | 12,752 |
| 2017-18 | 14,554 | 0 | 3,460 | 11,094 |
| 2018-19 | 12,817 | 2,095 | 2,504 | 8,218 |
| 2019-20 | 11,695 | 2,086 | 2,331 | 7,278 |
| 2020-21 | 11,366 | 1,725 | 2,592 | 7,049 |
| 2021-22 | 11,266 | 1,933 | 2,640 | 6,693 |
| 2022-23 | 11,107 | 1,883 | 2,809 | 6,415 |
| 2023-24 | 11,359 | 2,007 | 3,136 | 6,216 |
| 2024-25 | 11,790 | 2,272 | 3,360 | 6,158 |
| Average | 12,923 | 1,400 | 2,890 | 8,633 |
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