What News, Events, and Student Opportunities Are Featured on the Siebel School Website?
Updated
The Siebel School of Computing and Data Science site highlights a mix of school news, media coverage, alumni stories, and student-organization resources, alongside enrollment and alumni figures that give a sense of scale. The homepage presents these through its News & Events area and "Siebel School Experts at Work" section, which feature faculty, student, and alumni achievements. The site also points to more than 100 engineering societies and student orgs, and notes a worldwide alumni network of 14K+.
News and Media Coverage
The homepage news feed mixes school announcements with external media appearances. Recent items shown include:
- Alumni recognition: CS alum Bowen Jin receiving the 2026 ACM SIGKDD Doctoral Dissertation Award.
- Faculty in the media: Dakshita Khurana commenting on an "existential crisis" between AI and mathematics (Science), and Talia Ringer discussing how AI company leaders use fear in regulatory lobbying.
- Research honors: Kaiyu Guan winning a MacArthur Fellowship, covered by the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Center milestones: the 2026 AICE Fall Symposium reflecting the center's continued success.
- Student and alumni stories: "Siebel School Stories" on how Illinois helped Niraj Pant find his path to entrepreneurship, and CS alum Arnav Mishra speaking at a packed Founders Week event at the Landuyt Center for Entrepreneurship.
- Program features: a piece on the Chicago Capstone Experience and the future of tech in Chicago.
These items show the kinds of stories the school publicizes: dissertation awards, media commentary from faculty, fellowships, symposiums, entrepreneurship events, and capstone experiences.
Student Organizations and Campus Life
The site states there are 100+ engineering societies and student orgs, giving prospective and current students a broad set of extracurricular options across Grainger Engineering. The homepage also references the Landuyt Center for Entrepreneurship through the Founders Week story, indicating entrepreneurship programming is part of the student experience.
Scale: Enrollment and Alumni
The homepage provides figures that help readers understand the school's size:
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate degrees offered | 30+ |
| Graduate degrees offered | 9 |
| World-class faculty | 145+ |
| Alumni worldwide | 14K+ |
| Graduate students, fall '25 class | 2,988 |
| Undergraduates, fall '25 class | 3,624 |
| Research expenditures | $60 million |
| Research centers and partnerships | 20+ |
| Research areas | 11 |
Rankings and Program Options
The site lists several rankings: #2 public undergraduate program, #2 public graduate program, #5 overall undergraduate program, and #5 overall graduate program, plus #1 online master's programs for military service members. It also notes a 4+1 five-year combined bachelor's + master's option and 7 top-10 ranked undergraduate specialties.
Where to Go Next
The homepage navigation includes About, Admissions, Academics, Research, and News & Events. Prospective students can explore majors, sign up for a visit, and prepare to apply through the Admissions section; the site links to a "Plan a Visit" page under Grainger Engineering admissions. Graduate and professional applicants, including online degree and certificate seekers, can find program and faculty information under Academics and Research.
If you want to follow current activity, the News & Events section is the place to check for the latest faculty, student, and alumni stories; if you are choosing a program, the rankings, degree counts, and 4+1 option on the homepage give a quick starting point before you move into the Admissions pages.