Who are we?
Illinois State University is home to a nationally recognized forensics team with 10 national team championships and over 80 individual titles in its history. Forensics at Illinois State offers Lincoln-Douglas policy debate as well as individual speaking events competition in interpretation, public speaking, and limited preparation genres. Founded in 1857, the ISU Forensics Union prides itself on being the oldest registered student organization on ISU’s campus as well as the most successful competitive team in the school’s history. It is comprised of an academically diverse group of undergraduate students from all across the country. Director of Forensics: Megan Koch, Assistant Director of Individual Events: Ryan Tinlin, Director of Debate: Shanna Carlson.
What do we do?
Students on the speech team are able to perform in a mix of any two (or all three) genres: interpretation, public speaking, and limited preparation. Joining the team can allow students to earn partial tuition waivers as well as performance-based scholarships. Members of the Forensics Union also have the opportunity to travel all across the nation, with locations ranging from New York, California, Oregon, Texas, Washington DC, & Colorado.
Join us this fall!
Want to come check out Forensics? You can visit us anytime at Fell Hall room 020 or reach out to forensics@ilstu.edu.
Fall 2024 Welcome Events
- Festival ISU – Tuesday, August 27 10am-2pm – Stop by our table in the Brown Ballroom 10-2!
- Welcome Picnic – Thursday, August 29 1-3:30pm This will be out on the Quad in front of Fell Hall please RSVP here.
- Info Night – Wednesday, September 4 5-6:30pm There will be pizza provided and we will be watching great performances from both current members and alumni to help you get inspired and better understand what we do. RSVP here!
Check out more information about the Speech or Debate teams as well as a new video about forensics!
Highlights from this year
