Purdue University

Main article: Purdue University system

Purdue University is a public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. It is the main campus of the Purdue University system. The university opened in 1869 after a businessman named John Purdue gave land and money to start a college for science, technology, and agriculture. The first classes began on September 16, 1874.

Purdue is part of the Association of American Universities and is known for its strong research. It has many students from other countries and is one of the largest schools in Indiana. Purdue has the oldest computer science degree-granting department in the world and the first university-owned airport in the United States.

Purdue helped start the Big Ten Conference and has teams in 18 sports. Many famous people have been connected to Purdue, including 13 Nobel laureates, one Turing Award winner, and 27 astronauts.

History

John Purdue, the university's eponymous benefactor

Purdue University was founded in 1869 in West Lafayette, Indiana, after a donation from John Purdue. The university started with science, technology, and agriculture. Its first classes were in 1874 with 39 students. Over time, Purdue grew into a big research university, famous for its engineering and science programs.

During World War II, Purdue helped with important research and training. After the war, the university added more programs, including the first computer science department in the United States. Recently, Purdue has kept focusing on research and international programs. In 2024, it started Purdue University in Indianapolis, bringing more courses to the city.

Campuses

Purdue Mall, showing the Engineering Fountain, Purdue Bell Tower, and Hovde Hall

Purdue University's campus is in West Lafayette, near the Wabash River. The campus is split by Mitch Daniels Boulevard. Most school buildings are on the east and south sides. The Purdue Mall, also called the Engineering Mall, links the school area to Ross-Ade Stadium and has a tall Engineering Fountain. The Purdue Bell Tower is between the Stadium and Centennial Malls and is a famous symbol of the university.

South of the Purdue Mall is the Memorial Mall, the oldest part of campus and a popular meeting place. The area south of Mitch Daniels Boulevard has buildings for farming, art, life science, and animal care, along with the Krannert School of Management and Horticulture Gardens. The west part of campus has student homes and fun places, while the north has many sports places like Ross–Ade Stadium for American football and Mackey Arena for basketball.

Organization and administration

Gateway to the Future arch

Purdue University has a board that helps run the school. The university is part of a bigger group that also includes a campus in Indianapolis. Many leaders have helped Purdue University offer learning and discovery opportunities.

Academics

Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering with a statue of Neil Armstrong at the entrance

Purdue University is one of the top schools in the United States. For the Class of 2025, Purdue accepted about 69% of students who applied, and around 25% of those students chose to join. The university offers more than 211 areas to study, with strong programs in engineering and aviation. Purdue has a long history with aviation, including being the first to offer college credit for flight training and awarding the first bachelor’s degree in aviation.

Purdue is divided into 10 colleges, covering subjects such as agriculture, education, engineering, business, and science. The university is also known for its research, with teachers working on important projects in areas like agriculture, engineering, and health. Purdue’s libraries have over three million books, including special collections like the Amelia Earhart Collection. The university supports green efforts, including buildings with LEED certification and an annual Green Week event.

Fall first-time freshman statistics
	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Applicants	78,526	72,800	68,309	59,173	57,279	54,912	53,439	48,912	48,775
Admits	39,096	36,602	35,995	40,759	38,457	32,834	30,965	28,092	27,226
Admit rate	49.8	50.3	52.7	68.9	67.1	59.8	57.9	57.4	55.8
Enrolled	11,388	9,206	9,354	10,157	8,869	8,056	8,357	7,566	7,242
Yield rate	29.1	25.2	25.9	24.9	23.1	24.5	27.0	26.9	26.6
ACT composite* (out of 36)	27–34 (25%^†)	27–34 (24%^†)	27–34 (29%^†)	26–33 (31%^†)	25–33 (46%^†)	25–32 (50%^†)	25–32 (51%^†)	25–31 (60%^†)	25–31 (62%^†)
SAT composite* (out of 1600)	1210–1470 (79%^†)	1210–1450 (73%^†)	1210–1450 (67%^†)	1190–1430 (62%^†)	1190–1430 (82%^†)	1190–1440 (82%^†)	1180–1410 (76%^†)	1150–1380 (69%^†)	—
* middle 50% range ^† percentage of first-time freshmen who chose to submit

College/school founding
College/school	Year founded

College of Agriculture	1869
College of Education	1908
College of Engineering	1876
College of Health and Human Sciences	2010
College of Liberal Arts	1953
Daniels School of Business	1962
College of Pharmacy	1884
Purdue Polytechnic Institute	1964
College of Science	1907
College of Veterinary Medicine	1959

Rankings

Purdue University is known for its strong science, technology, engineering, and math programs. In 2026, U.S. News & World Report ranked Purdue as the 7th most innovative university in the United States. It also ranked highly in engineering and internships.

The university does well in global rankings, too. In 2026, the Times Higher Education placed Purdue 10th worldwide for interdisciplinary science and 30th for engineering. As of April 2025, CSRankings.org ranked Purdue's computer science program 13th in the United States.

USNWR Graduate Program Rankings
Audiology	8
Biological Sciences	50
Chemistry	27
Analytic Chemistry	1
Computer Science	19
Earth Sciences	42
Economics	49
Education	48
Overall Engineering	6
Electrical Engineering	7
Aerospace Engineering	2
Biological/Agricultural Engineering	1
Civil Engineering	5
Computer Engineering	8
Mechanical Engineering	8
Nuclear Engineering	10
Environmental Engineering	9
Industrial Engineering	6
English	46
Mathematics	37
Applied Mathematics	24
Mathematical Analysis	20
Pharmacy	9
Physics	38
Political Science	63
Psychology	46
Industrial and Organizational Psychology	7
Public Health	68
Sociology	54
Speech-Language Pathology	2
Statistics	22
Veterinary Medicine	11

Campus life

Graduation ceremony in 2008

Purdue University has a lively student life with students from over 126 countries. Many students join clubs and organizations, and there are more than 1,000 options to choose from. Some well-known clubs began at Purdue, like the Purdue Reamer Club, which looks after the Boilermaker Special mascot.

The university holds enjoyable yearly events such as Boiler Gold Rush, a student orientation and sports celebration, and the Purdue University Dance Marathon, where students dance for 18 hours to support Riley Hospital for Children. There is also Spring Fest, a carnival with fun activities, and the Purdue Grand Prix, a go-kart race put on by students. Purdue offers many places for students to live, including university housing, fraternities, and sororities. There are also many religious groups on campus for students to be part of.

Student body composition as of May 2, 2022
Race and ethnicity	Total
White	64%
Foreign national	12%
Asian	10%
Hispanic	6%
Other	5%
Black	3%
Economic diversity
Low-income	15%
Affluent	85%

Media

The Purdue Exponent, an independent student newspaper, is the largest college newspaper in Indiana. It prints many copies each day during the school year. Purdue once had a yearbook named the Debris.

WBAA is a radio service owned by Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Media and based at Purdue University. It offers news, classical music, and jazz. Purdue sold the WBAA radio frequencies in 2022 but still supports public broadcasting with WFYI-FM.

Purdue has a long history of student-run radio stations, including WCCR, WILY, and WHHR. These now broadcast online. The Amateur Radio Club at Purdue, known as W9YB, is one of the oldest in the United States. It helps with emergency management in the Tippecanoe County area.

In 1999, students at Purdue started the Movie Tribute Show in a small television studio on campus.

Athletics

Main article: Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue University's sports teams are called the Boilermakers. The name started in 1891 when a newspaper called the team the "Boiler Makers" after they won a game. Their mascots are the Boilermaker Special, a truck-like vehicle, and Purdue Pete, a strong hammer-wielding character. The school colors, old gold and black, were chosen in 1887.

Purdue has many sports teams, including football, basketball, and wrestling. They are part of the Big Ten Conference and have rivalries with teams like the Indiana Hoosiers. Their football team plays at Ross-Ade Stadium and has a fun tradition called the "Breakfast Club" before games, where students dress up in costumes and celebrate.

The basketball teams have won many Big Ten Conference titles. Both teams have achieved many successes in their competitions.

People

Faculty

Main article: List of Purdue University faculty

Purdue University began with only six teachers in 1874. Today, it has more than 2,500 teachers. Some of these teachers are well-known for their important work. For example, Arden L. Bement Jr. led the National Science Foundation, and Louis de Branges de Bourcia solved a major math problem called the Bieberbach conjecture. Two teachers, Herbert C. Brown and Ei-ichi Negishi, won Nobel Prizes while teaching at Purdue.

Alumni

Main article: List of Purdue University alumni

Many people who finished their studies at Purdue have achieved wonderful things. In space, Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, attended Purdue, as did Gus Grissom, America's second man in space. In science, Purdue graduates have won Nobel Prizes and made important discoveries. In business, you might know names like Stephen Bechtel, Jr., who leads a very large company, or Orville Redenbacher, known for his popcorn.

In sports, Purdue has had many famous basketball and football players, including Drew Brees, who played in the Super Bowl. The university has a special building called the Dauch Alumni Center to help stay connected with all these graduates.