Purdue University

Purdue University is a world-class research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Established as a land-grant university in 1869, the West Lafayette campus is the flagship university of Purdue’s six-campus system. Purdue, a Big Ten Conference member, serves the second largest student body among Indiana universities and enrolls the fourth largest amount of international students in the United States.

Degree Programs

Purdue offers a broad selection of degree programs for both undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 fields of study and is renowned for its advanced engineering programs. Aviation history in America has been greatly influenced by the institution, which was the first college to offer credit for flight training, to create a four-year degree in aviation, and to establish a university airport (under the only College of Technology in the Big 10). In the mid-1900s, Purdue expanded its aviation program to include cutting-edge spaceflight technology. Purdue’s nickname, "Cradle of Astronauts," was born of the fact that Neil Armstrong, Gus Grissom, Eugene Cernan, and twenty other astronauts have graduated from Purdue.

Purdue is divided into twelve schools and colleges along with Pre-Med and Pre-Professional Programs and The IU School of Medicine. Other colleges include and feature the Colleges of Engineering, Agriculture, and Technology, as well as the newly established College of Health and Human Sciences. This college encompasses programs in Health Sciences, Nursing, Consumer Science, Psychological Science, and Nutrition for a wide range of career options.

Accreditation

Purdue is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Athletics

Known as the Boilermakers, Purdue athletic teams play in the Division I/I-A NCAA. Teams include cross country, tennis, basketball, football, wrestling, and golf. The school is also a founding member of the Big Ten Conference.

Purdue’s classic rivals include the Indiana Hoosiers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Library System

Purdue’s library system includes 15 discipline-specific divisions, such as Archives and Special Collections; Life Sciences; Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education; Aviation Technology; and the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management and Economics.

Other library services include interlibrary loans use of media materials; electronic equipment check out; use of public computers; classrooms for study groups; and printing, copying, and scanning equipment. The library system was designed to reflect the university’s core strengths of agriculture, engineering, and science as well as the professional schools of business, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.

Rankings

Purdue’s engineering program is strongly ranked, both nationally and internationally, with The U.S. News & World Report placing it as eighth nationwide. Purdue’s graduate program was ranked 10th in 2012, and The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) placed the engineering program at tenth internationally.

In 2011, the ARWU ranked Purdue 40th nationally, while U.S. News & World Report ranked it 62nd and Washington Monthly ranked it 79th.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Purdue offers scholarships and grants, loans, fee remissions and discounts, and federal work-study options to help students defray the cost of attendance. Scholarships include funds for National Guard members, senior citizens, nursing students and minority teachers.

Student Housing

There are a variety of living options, both on-campus and off. The university residence halls include Cary Quadrangle, Earhart Hall, First Street Towers, Harrison Hall, Owens Hall, and Shreve Hall. In addition, there are several cooperative housing properties, as well as fraternities and sororities; 20 percent of Purdue students opt for the latter.