Purdue University
Purdue University Featured Rankings
- #1 Best Online Associate Degree Programs in Indiana
- #1 20 Most Affordable Online Bachelor's of Cybersecurity
- #1 Indiana's Best Online Colleges 2022
- #1 Most Affordable Colleges in Indiana 2022
- #1 Best Colleges in Indiana 2022
- #1 Military Friendly Online Colleges
- #1 Most Affordable Online Sociology Doctorate Degree Programs (PhDs)
- #2 Best Public Colleges in Indiana
- #2 Best Online MBAs Indiana
- #2 Indiana's Best Online Master's Degrees
- #3 Best Research Universities in Indiana 2022
- #3 Best Grad Schools in Indiana 2022
- #3 Most Influential US Universities by State
- #4 Best Online Master's of Public Relations
- #5 Best Supply Chain Management MBA Programs
- #6 Most Affordable Online Computer Science PhD Programs
- #11 America's 15 Most Technologically Advanced Colleges
- #15 Most Influential Colleges in Swimming and Diving Today
- #15 Most Affordable Colleges in the U.S. 2022
- #15 Most Affordable Online PhD of Nursing (DNP) Degree Programs
- #16 Best Public Colleges
- #16 Best Public Grad Schools
- #21 The Most Influential Colleges in Football Today
- #29 The Best Traditional MBA Programs
- #34 Best Grad Schools 2025
- #37 Best US Universities 2025
- #88 Best Universities World 2025
About Purdue University
Purdue University was founded in 1869 with substantial financing provided by industrialist John Purdue. Its purpose was to train students in agriculture and engineering. The school officially opened for business in 1874 and grew quickly.
By the end of the nineteenth century, Purdue had been organized into five schools: agriculture, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and pharmacy. Later, schools of education and home economics were added. An early attempt at creating a medical school was later abandoned.
In other respects, Purdue was spectacularly successful. By 1925 the university was home to the largest number of engineering students in the US. It remained the nation’s largest engineering school for the next half-century.
Today, Purdue operates four satellite campuses: in Hammond, Fort Wayne, Columbus, and Indianapolis. Overall, the Purdue system has a student body approaching 75,000 souls.
Purdue is associated with 13 Nobel Prize winners, including:
- Physicists, Ben Roy Mottelson, Edward Mills Purcell, Julian Schwinger & Wolfgang Pauli
- Chemists, Ei-ichi Negishi, Herbert C. Brown & Akira Suzuki
- Economist, Vernon L. Smith
In addition, the Turing Award winning computer scientist, Alan J. Perlis, spent time here as a researcher.
Among other prominent Purdue-connected individuals, we may note the following:
- Astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Roger Chaffee & Eugene Cernan
- Heroic airline pilot, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger
- Mathematicians, Andrew Majda, Shreeram Shankar Abhyankar & Feydoon Shahidi
- Computer scientists, Mikhail Atallah, Markus Kuhn & Jill Zimmerman
- Computer software developer, Sanjiva Weerawarana
- Physicist, Albert Overhauser
- Chemist, C.N.R. Rao
- Chemical engineer, Rakesh Agrawal
- Molecular biologists, Seymour Benzer & Ronald Breaker
- Microbiologist, Rita Colwell
- Nanotechnology pioneers, Supriyo Datta & James Tour
- Physiologist, Leslie Geddes
- Economist, Hugo Sonnenschein
- Anthropologist, Peter Peregrine
- Novelist and playwright, Booth Tarkington
- Actors, George Peppard & Kenneth Choi
- Stand-up comic, Jim Gaffigan
- Photographer, Margaret Bourke-White
According to Wikipedia, Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his name. The first classes were held on September 16, 1874, with six instructors and 39 students. It has been ranked as among the best public universities in the United States by major institutional rankings, and is known for its engineering program.
Purdue University's Online Degrees
Purdue University Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
Annual Applications | Acceptance | Graduation Rate | Median SAT Score | Median ACT Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
68,582 | 53% | 83% | 1335 | 30 |
How Much Does Purdue University Cost To Attend?
Tuition (in-state) | Fees (in-state) |
---|---|
$9,718 | $274 |
How Much Do Purdue University Graduates Make?
If you graduate from Purdue University, then you can expect to earn an average of $62,200 per year. You also have a 92% chance of being employed after 10 years.
Purdue University's Demographics
Demographic data is for full-time, on-campus students.
Student Body | Under-Grads | Graduates |
---|---|---|
54,814 | 40,555 | 14,259 |
Where is Purdue University?
Purdue University is located at Hovde Hall of Administration, West Lafayette IN 47907-2040
How Safe is Purdue University?
West Lafayette has a violent crime rate of less than .01% and a property crime rate of less than .01%.
What Is Purdue University Known For?
Purdue University is known for it's academic work in the following disciplines:
- Engineering
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Mathematics
- Business
- Physics
- Nursing
- Biology
- Education
- Economics
- Earth Sciences
- Social Work
- Medical
- Sociology
- Communications
- History
- Psychology
- Political Science
- Philosophy
- Literature
- Anthropology
- Religious Studies
Purdue University's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Who Are Purdue University's Most Influential Alumni?
Purdue University's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Engineering, Computer Science, and Nursing. Here are some of Purdue University's most famous alumni:
- Neil Armstrong
- An American astronaut and lunar explorer .
- Ward Cunningham
- An American computer programmer who developed the first wiki.
- James Samuel Coleman
- An American sociologist.
- Gus Grissom
- An American astronaut .
- Edward Mills Purcell
- An American physicist .
- C. N. R. Rao
- An Indian chemist.
- Mohamed M. Atalla
- An Electrical engineer and "Father of the PIN".
- John C. Reynolds
- An American computer scientist .
- Douglas Comer
- An American computer scientist.
- Booth Tarkington
- An American novelist.
- Yitang Zhang
- A Chinese-born American mathematician.
- Ben Roy Mottelson
- A Danish nuclear physicist.
Who Are Purdue University's Most Influential Faculty?
Purdue University's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Engineering, Computer Science, and Nursing. Here are some of Purdue University's most famous alumni:
- Roxane Gay
- An American writer.
- Mung Chiang
- An American engineering researcher.
- Jeffrey H. Smith
- An American mathematician specializing in algebraic topology.
- Daniel P. Aldrich
- An American political scientist.
- Ellen Gruenbaum
- An American anthropologist.
- Dov Dori
- An American computer scientist.
- Wojciech Szpankowski
- A Polish computer scientist.
- Kathleen Howell
- An American academic.
- Sabine Brunswicker
- A Professor for Digital Innovation.
- Dennis Hong
- A Roboticist. Dennis Hong is founder and director of RoMeLa.
- Akhilesh K. Gaharwar
- A Researcher.
- Justin Lehmiller
- An American social psychologist & sex researcher.