Why Choose Purdue Graduate Studies?
Dedicated Faculty
Our world-renowned faculty tackles complex global issues every day. As a Purdue graduate student, you will receive personal mentoring from faculty throughout your plan of study. Here are some resources to help you select which faculty member in your department is a good fit for your research interests and career goals.
- 2023-2024 Purdue ties its Fulbright Scholar Awards Record, Eight Faculty Honored
- 2023 Faculty Awards Convocation Awardees
- 2022 Faculty Awards Convocation Awardees
- 2021 Faculty Awards Convocation Awardees
- 2020 Faculty Awards Convocation Awardees
- Purdue Recipients for National and International Awards
- Distinguished, Named University and Named Professors
Impactful Research
Purdue is a worldwide leader in discovery and innovation. New investments in research are routine, like the recently announced one billion-dollar development of Purdue’s campus. Every new research award brings new opportunities to our programs of study and students.
- $613 million in research awards in 2022-2023 (record)
- Top 10 most innovative school in the U.S. 5 Years Running (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #3 Nationally for Startup Creation, Behind Only MIT and Columbia (IP Watchdog Institute, 2020)
- #4 in the U.S. for Utility Patents (U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office, 2023)
Cutting Edge Facilities
Between Discovery Park, the Purdue Research Foundation, 133 research centers, and 13 on-campus libraries, Purdue is positioned to be a worldwide innovative leader now and well into the future.
Financial Support
It pays to be a Purdue graduate student with various assistantships and fellowships available through the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars and individual departments.
- #1 Best Value University in Indiana (SmartAsset, 2023)
- #2 Best Value School in the Big Ten (SmartAsset, 2023)
- #6 Best Value School Among All Public Universities (SmartAsset, 2023)
- #15 Best Value Among All Nationwide Institutions (SmartAsset, 2023)
Active Campus Community
You’ll find many opportunities to meet new people. You'll never have a boring weekend with our graduate student organizations, convocations, cultural centers, recreation center, and Big Ten athletics.
- More than 1,000 student clubs and organizations
- State-of-the-art recreational sports center featuring 30+ club sports and dozens of intramural teams
- Five major cultural centers
- Multiple entertainment options - Broadway, theatre, dance, music, comedy, and influential speakers
- 12,136 graduate students from 120+ countries
Safe and Vibrant Community with a Low Cost of Living
West Lafayette and Lafayette boast a wide array of entertainment, food, shopping, and businesses. With a cost of living 17% lower than the national average, you'll find plenty of affordable housing options. Students also enjoy using the affordable city bus. The greater Lafayette area is centrally located - only 1 hour to Indianapolis and 2 hours to Chicago.
- #1 Best Emerging Housing Market (Greater Lafayette) (Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com, 2023)
- #1 Best Place in U.S. for Career Opportunities (Lafayette) (SmartAsset, 2022)
- #1 Best on List of Safest Colleges (Academic Influence, 2024)
- #8 Best College Town in America (Greater Lafayette) (WalletHub, 2022)
- #8 Best College Town in the U.S. for Starting a Career (Business Insider, 2019)
- #15 Safest U.S. College Town (Safewise, 2021)
Outstanding Career Preparation
Purdue offers career and professional development before and after graduation. We have graduate student job fairs and travel grants to take you to conferences nationwide. With a network of over 600,000 alumni, your relationship with Purdue will extend long after graduation.
- #1 Best Place for Career Opportunities (Smart Asset, 2022)
- Top 3 Best Large Employers Among U.S. Universities (Forbes, 2024)
- #8 Most Alumni Serving as Fortune 500 CEOs (Academic Influence, 2021)
- #18 Best Career Placement Among Public Schools (The Princeton Review, 2024)
- #16 World's Most Innovative Companies (Fast Company, 2023)
- #36 Most Employable University Graduates (Quacquarelli Symonds, 2022)
- #39 Most Employable University Graduates in the U.S. (Times Higher Education, 2024)
Reputation
- #1 Public University in Indiana (Niche, 2024) and (Forbes, 2023)
- #2 University in Indiana (Forbes, 2023) and (Niche, 2024) and (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- #3 Most Recognized Public University for Global University Visibility (GUV) and (American Caldwell, 2023)
- #4 Most Trusted Public University in the U.S. (Morning Consult, 2022)
- #6 Big Ten University (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2025)
- #8 Public University (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2025)
- #9 Land Grant University (Times Higher Education, 2024) and (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
- #10 Most Recognized Public University Globally (American Caldwell, 2023)
- #12 Campus-wide sustainability efforts (#93 out of 1,403 institutions worldwide) and (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2024)
- #14 Public University (Times Higher Education, 2024) and (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
- #19 U.S. Public University (Forbes, 2023)
- #24 U.S. Public University (Niche, 2024)
- #24 U.S. University (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2025)
- #27 University in the U.S. (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2024)
- #32 Best Colleges for Future Leaders (TIME and Statista, 2024)
- #33 Best University in the U.S. and #86 Worldwide (only global top 100 in Indiana) (Times Higher Education, 2024)
- #43 in National Universities (record) (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
- #51 University in the U.S. (Forbes, 2023)
- #86 Worldwide University (Times Higher Education, 2024)
- #89 Global University (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2025)
Affordability
- #1 Best Value University in Indiana (Smart Asset, 2023)
- #2 Best Value University in the Big 10 (Smart Asset, 2023)
- #3 Best Value University in Indiana (Niche, 2024)
- #6 Best Value Public University in the U.S. (SmartAsset, 2023)
- #7 Best Value School in the U.S. (The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, 2022)
- Top 10 Best Value Public University in the U.S. (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- #15 Best Value University in the U.S. (Smart Asset, 2023)
- #20 Best Value Public University (Princeton Review, 2024)
- 13 Years of Straight Frozen Tuition
Innovation
- #1 Most Innovative Educational Institution Worldwide for Training Semiconductor Engineers (Fast Company, 2023)
- #3 Most Innovative U.S. Public University (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #3 National Startup Creation, Behind Only MIT and Columbia (IP Watchdog Institute, 2020)
- #4 in the U.S. for Patents (National Academy of Inventors, 2022) and (U.S. Patents and Trademark Office, 2023)
- #7 Most Innovative School in the U.S. 5 Years Running (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- #16 Most Innovative Company Worldwide (Fast Company, 2023)
Campus Culture
- #1 Best Campus for LGBTQ+ students in Indiana (Best Colleges, 2023)
- #2 Institution in the Big Ten for International Student Enrollment (Open Doors Report, 2023)
- #3 U.S. Public University for International Enrollment (Open Doors Report, 2023)
- #8 U.S. Institution for International Student Enrollment (Open Doors, 2024)
- #14 Best University for Veterans (College Consensus, 2023)
- #24 Among all U.S. Doctoral Institutions in the Number of Study Abroad Students (Open Doors, 2023)
- 12,136 graduate students from 120+ countries
Top Ranked Programs
Audiology
- Purdue’s Audiology graduate program ranks #8 in the nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
Biological Sciences
- The Biological Sciences graduate program ranks #50 overall nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2022)
Chemistry
- Chemistry's graduate program is ranked #27 overall nationally, with its Analytical Chemistry specialty ranked #1 (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
Communications
- Purdue Online Master's in Communications program is ranked #1 (MastersinCommunication.org, 2023)
Computer Science
- Computer Science is ranked #19 nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2024), with specific programs ranked as follows:
- #13 Program in Systems Specialty (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- #23 Artificial Intelligence Specialty (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #13 Programming Language Specialty (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
- Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences is ranked #42 nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
Economics
- Economics' graduate program is ranked #49 overall nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2022)
Education
- College of Education ranks #49 nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #1 online Master's program in Indiana (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #6 online Master's program in Curriculum and Instruction (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
- #8 online Master's program in Instructional Media (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #10 online Master's program in Learning Design and Technology (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
- #11 online Master's program in Educational Administration (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
- #13 online Master's program in Special Education (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
- #15 online Master's program in the U.S. (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
Engineering
- College of Engineering is the #4 best Engineering School in the country (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- Specific areas in engineering rank as follows*:
- #1 in Agricultural and Biological Engineering
- #2 in Aeronautics and Astronautics
- #5 in Civil Engineering
- #6 in Industrial Engineering
- #7 in Biomedical Engineering
- #7 in Electrical Engineering
- #8 in Mechanical Engineering
- #8 in Computer Engineering
- #9 in Environmental and Ecological Engineering
- #10 in Nuclear Engineering
- #1 online Master's program in Engineering Management (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- #1 online Master's program in Electrical Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #1 online Master's program in Industrial Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- #1 online Master's program in Mechanical Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- #2 online Master's program in Civil Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #2 online Master's program in Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
*Source: U.S. News & World Report, 2024
- #1 Most Affordable Online Master's in Computer Engineering (Best Universities, 2024)
- #5 in Online Engineering Master's programs for veterans (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
English
- Purdue's English department for graduate studies is ranked #46 nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2021)
Management (Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business)
Rankings for the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business:
- #3 Production and Operations Management MBA program (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- #4 Project Management MBA program (College Consensus, 2024)
- #7 Supply Chain Management/Logistics (College Consensus, 2024)
- #12 Business Analytics and Information Management (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
- #26 Best Accelerated One-Year MBA (College Consensus, 2024)
Mathematics
- Mathematics is ranked #37 overall nationally; with Applied Math ranking of #24 and Analysis ranking #20 (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
Nursing
- School of Nursing at the master's level ranks #22 nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
- The Doctor of Nursing Practice program is #24 nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- The School of Pharmacy ranks #7 nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2020)
Physics and Astronomy
- The Department of Physics ranks #38 overall nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
Psychological Sciences
- The Department of Psychology ranks #46 overall nationally and #3 in Indiana (U.S. News & World Report, 2022)
- Industrial-Organizational Psychology program ranking #7 (U.S. News & World Report, 2022)
- Clinical Psychology program ranking #43 (U.S. News & World Report, 2020)
Speech, Language, and Hearing Science
- Purdue’s Speech-Language Pathology program ranks #2 in the nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
Statistics
- Purdue University's Statistics program ranks #22 nationally (U.S. News & World Report, 2022)
Veterinary Medicine
- Purdue’s School of Veterinary Medicine ranks #11 in the nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
Statistics last updated February 14, 2024.