Purdue University - Main Campus Overview
Purdue University - Main Campus is a public institution located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.
What Is Purdue University - Main Campus Known For?
- The student loan default rate at Purdue is 2%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
- The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at Purdue.
- For the 2017-2018 academic year, 96% of the faculty were full-time.
- A student who earns a bachelor's degree from Purdue makes roughly $55,100 a year. This is 35% more than their peers from other colleges and universities.
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Purdue University - Main Campus Rankings
According to our 2022 analysis, Purdue is ranked #135 out of 2,587 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation. Out of the 48 colleges in Indiana, it is ranked at #3.
These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.
Purdue has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#36 | Best Associate Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#73 | Best Graduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#96 | Best Master’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
#128 | Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Purdue.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards Purdue has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#1 | Best Architectural Engineering Technology Schools | College Factual |
#1 | Best Agricultural Engineering Schools | College Factual |
#1 | Best Soil Sciences Schools | College Factual |
#12 | Best Engineering Technologies Schools | College Factual |
#100 | Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools | College Factual |
#125 | Best Business Schools | Business Degree Central |
Where Is Purdue University - Main Campus?

Contact details for Purdue are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | Hovde Hall Of Administration, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2040 |
Phone: | 765-494-4600 |
Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/PurdueUniversity |
Twitter: | http://twitter.com/LifeAtPurdue |
How Do I Get Into Purdue?
You can apply to Purdue online at: https://www.admissions.purdue.edu/apply/apply.php
Admission Requirements for Purdue
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | required |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | neither required nor recommended |
How Hard Is It To Get Into Purdue?
Approximately 58% of accepted students are men and 42% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 63%, and the acceptance rate for women is 74%.
Average Test Scores
About 82% of students accepted to Purdue submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 580 and 680. Math scores were between 590 and 740.
Can I Afford Purdue University - Main Campus?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Purdue, approximately 29% of students took out student loans averaging $8,522 a year. That adds up to $34,088 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at Purdue is 2.2%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Purdue University - Main Campus Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 10,949 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 33,575 full-time undergraduates at Purdue, 58% are male and 42% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Purdue University - Main Campus students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 3,500 |
Black or African American | 865 |
Hispanic or Latino | 2,011 |
White | 21,255 |
International Students | 4,054 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 1,890 |
Geographic Diversity
Indiana students aren't the only ones who study at Purdue University - Main Campus. At this time, 49 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 135 countries are represented at Purdue. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.
Online Learning at Purdue University - Main Campus
The following chart shows how the online learning population at Purdue has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 7th most popular in Indiana for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.
Online Affordability Rankings of Purdue
The following table shows how Purdue is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.
Major | Tuition for In-State Students | Tuition for Out-of-State Students |
---|---|---|
Systems Theory | #1 | #4 |
Architectural Engineering Technology | #1 | #1 |
Linguistics & Comparative Literature | #1 | #1 |
Biomedical Engineering | #1 | #1 |
General Engineering Technology | #4 | #4 |
Engineering Technology (Other) | #4 | #7 |
Agricultural Economics & Business | #4 | #4 |
Agricultural Production | #7 | #7 |
Air Transportation | #7 | #7 |
Transportation & Materials Moving | #10 | #10 |
Chemical Engineering | #10 | #10 |
Economics | #10 | #13 |
Other Engineering | #18 | #24 |
Foreign Languages & Linguistics | #19 | #22 |
Hospitality Management | #23 | #35 |
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations | #25 | #28 |
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering | #28 | #37 |
Electrical Engineering | #34 | #58 |
Industrial Engineering | #34 | #43 |
Computer Science | #34 | #46 |
Mechanical Engineering | #37 | #49 |
Human Resource Management | #38 | #96 |
Communication & Media Studies | #43 | #61 |
Computer Information Systems | #46 | #88 |
Engineering-Related Fields | #58 | #82 |
Communication & Journalism | #69 | #96 |
Online Growth Rankings of Purdue
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Purdue University - Main Campus was 58.0%. This is the #609 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Purdue regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of Purdue majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations | 21% |
Air Transportation | 3% |
Computer & Information Sciences | 8% |
Economics | 12% |
Education | 15% |
Electrical Engineering | 6% |
Engineering | 8% |
Engineering Technology (Other) | 9% |
Foreign Languages & Linguistics | 2% |
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities | 29% |
Liberal Arts General Studies | 29% |
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies | 27% |
Psychology | 11% |
Social Sciences | 7% |
Special Education | 38% |
Teacher Education Grade Specific | 23% |
Transportation & Materials Moving | 3% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at Purdue ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at Purdue.
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Purdue University - Main Campus Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Abhijitsathe under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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