Purdue ranked No. 1 public university in Indiana; 20 undergraduate programs among top 20 in U.S.   

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University remains the highest-ranked public university in Indiana and, for the third straight year, places as the state’s only public institution among the nation’s top 50, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges rankings. 

In the annual ranking focusing primarily on undergraduate programs, Purdue tied at No. 46 among more than 400 universities, the same as last year, according to the results released Tuesday (Sept. 23).

Purdue rose to sixth overall for co-op and internship opportunities — its highest level ever in this key career-path category and continuing a seven-year run as a top three university among publics. Purdue improved to No. 17 for learning communities and tied for No. 19 in the service-learning category. Purdue ranked as the No. 26 best college for veterans. Purdue also garnered a No. 23 ranking for the percentage of faculty who are full time and a No. 29 standing for graduates’ earnings potential, a strong marker that underscores the value of a Purdue degree.

“Purdue’s strongest programs of research, scholarship and teaching continue to grow even stronger,” said Purdue Provost Patrick Wolfe. “Several of our strategic priority areas spanning STEM and business — together encompassing nearly three-quarters of our undergraduate students — made noteworthy climbs in this year’s rankings.”

In the subject rankings of undergraduate programs, Purdue has 20 programs ranked among the top 20 in the country. Purdue’s acclaimed College of Engineering maintained its No. 8 nationwide undergraduate placement. Nine of Purdue’s engineering schools ranked among the top 10 overall nationally:

• Industrial engineering: No. 2
• Aeronautics and astronautics: No. 3
• Civil engineering: No. 3
• Agricultural and biological engineering: No. 4
• Mechanical engineering: No. 8
• Computer engineering: No. 9 (up one spot)
• Electrical engineering: No. 10 (up one spot)
• Environmental engineering: No. 10 (up two spots)
• Materials engineering: No. 10
• Chemical engineering: No. 14
• Biomedical engineering: No. 23 (No. 5 among colleges without a medical school)

Purdue Computes and the Mitch Daniels School of Business, both among the university’s strategic initiatives, have their strengths reflected in the undergraduate program rankings.

Purdue’s Department of Computer Science — which is shared between the colleges of Science and Engineering — ranked No. 16, with several programs also earning top 20 rankings:

• Cybersecurity: No. 4 (up two spots)
• Software engineering: No. 8 (up two spots)
• Artificial intelligence: No. 18 (up two spots)

The Daniels School — which offers a STEM-infused, future-focused business education and research across nine new departments — rose three spots to No. 24 for undergraduate business programs, led by two top 10 programs. The school also had five programs in the top 20:

• Operations management: No. 4 (up one spot)
• Supply chain management/logistics: No. 9 (up one spot)
• Quantitative analysis: No. 11
• Analytics: No. 12
• Management information systems: No. 20

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings are calculated by using 17 key indicators to measure academic quality and graduate success. The annual rankings, which provide prospective students and their families comparative merits of undergraduate programs at U.S. universities, examine factors such as graduation rates, graduate indebtedness and postgraduate earnings.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.