Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC but mainly referred to as SIU) is located in Carbondale, Illinois. The Carbondale campus is the flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system, which includes SIU's smaller sister institution Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Founded in 1869, SIU ranks as one of the top public universities in Illinois. SIU is recognized in the U.S. News & World Report rankings as a "National University", that is, a university which grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research. US News ranks SIU in the "third tier", meaning that it is currently in the third quartile of schools within the National University category. Among public universities in Illinois awarding doctorate degrees, only the University of Illinois ranks higher. Additionally, SIU is ranked by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as Doctoral Research Extensive . The University offers the full range of degree programs from the bachelor s to the doctoral level, as well as professional degrees in law and medicine.