Purdue University
Indiana's land-grant engineering powerhouse, with tuition frozen for 14 straight years and admission by major.
- Acceptance rate
- 43%
- First-years who entered in fall 2025 (2025-26 Common Data Set)
- Students
- 57,876
- 43,633 undergraduates
- International
- 16%
- of students
- Student–faculty
- 14.7:1
- ratio
- Tuition
- $28,794
- From · 2026-27
About Purdue
Purdue University was founded in 1869 as Indiana's land-grant university under the Morrill Act, and its main campus is in West Lafayette, with a second main-campus location in Indianapolis. In fall 2025 it enrolled 57,876 students across the two locations, 43,633 of them undergraduates, and it is organised into colleges including Agriculture, Education, Engineering, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts, Pharmacy, Science, Veterinary Medicine, the Daniels School of Business and the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, plus the John Martinson Honors College.
Purdue is best known for engineering, aviation and applied science. Twenty-seven of its graduates have become astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the first and last people to walk on the Moon. U.S. News' 2027 Best Colleges ranks its undergraduate engineering No. 8 in the country, with agricultural and biological engineering and industrial engineering both No. 2. Tuition has been frozen for 14 consecutive years, which keeps in-state tuition and fees under $10,000 a year.
You apply to a specific major, and competitive programs such as engineering, computer science, flight, nursing and veterinary technology fill early, so the November 1 Early Action date matters. Purdue suits students who already know roughly what they want to study, like hands-on and technical work, and want a big Big Ten campus with a strong internship and co-op culture: 82% of students take part in an internship.
Why students choose Purdue
Undergraduate engineering ranks No. 8 nationally in U.S. News' 2027 Best Colleges, with five engineering programs in the national top five.
Tuition has been frozen for 14 years, so Indiana residents pay $9,992 in tuition and fees for 2026-27.
Internships and co-ops are part of the culture: 82% of students complete an internship, and U.S. News ranks Purdue No. 6 for internships and co-ops in its 2027 edition.
Purdue has educated 27 astronauts, and its professional flight program, one of the most selective majors, admitted 7.7% of applicants in 2025.
Admissions
First-years who entered in fall 2025 (2025-26 Common Data Set)
About 1 in 2 applicants is admitted
37,881 admitted from 87,220 applicants
Middle 50% of admitted students scored in this range.
Middle 50% of admitted students scored in this range.
You are admitted to a specific major, and admit rates vary widely: 34.7% for the College of Engineering, 42.9% for Computer Science, 28.9% for Nursing and 7.7% for Professional Flight Technology in 2025. International applicants were admitted at a much lower rate than domestic ones (3,672 of 16,327).
Typical entry requirements
| High school coursework | 16 academic units: 4 English, 4 mathematics, 3 lab science, 2 world language (not required for students from non-English-speaking countries), 3 social studies |
|---|---|
| English language | IELTS 6.5 · TOEFL iBT 88 TOEFL iBT 88 with 20 in each section for tests before January 21, 2026, or 4.5 with 4.0 in each section on the new scale; IELTS Academic 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each section; Duolingo 115 with 110 in every subscore; or ACT English 26. |
Deadlines
- Early Action Non-binding Next deadline · In 26 daysNovember 1, 2026
Non-binding. Also the firm deadline for merit scholarships and the Honors College, and the priority deadline for engineering, computer science, flight, nursing and veterinary technology. Decisions January 15.
- Regular Decision Non-binding In ~3 monthsJanuary 15, 2027
Decisions by March 31. Competitive majors take later applicants only if space allows.
Purdue's first-year deadlines page lists Nov. 1 (Early Action) and Jan. 15 (Regular Decision) without years; the application opens Aug. 1. Deadlines are 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, and all materials must arrive by the deadline. Purdue has no Early Decision plan.
How to apply
Common App ($60 fee, waivable for need); Common App essay (250-650 words); two required Purdue questions of up to 250 words each (plus one more if you choose an alternate major); self-reported courses and grades; SAT, ACT or CLT scores; primary location (West Lafayette or Indianapolis) and major; four extra essays of up to 200 words for the John Martinson Honors College.
What admissions looks for
- The courses you took and the grades you earned, which Purdue calls the most important factors, together with test scores.
- Preparation for your chosen major: grades in coursework critical to that major and evidence of commitment to it.
- Rigor of your high school record, GPA and your essay, all rated very important in the Common Data Set.
- Extracurricular activities, character, recommendations and first-generation status, all rated important.
Tips for applying to Purdue
- 1 Apply by November 1: Early Action is the only route to merit scholarships and the Honors College, and competitive majors may close after that date.
- 2 Choose your major carefully, and add an alternate only if you really want it; changing majors or campus location later is not guaranteed.
- 3 Use the two Purdue questions to explain why this major and this campus, not Purdue in general.
- 4 Take the SAT or ACT in the spring of junior year so your scores are ready for the November 1 deadline.
- 5 International applicants should plan to pay the full cost: Purdue's university merit scholarships are for domestic students only.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in USD
Indiana students with family income below $80,000, or who are Pell eligible, get the Boiler Gold Grant, which covers tuition, fees and books for up to eight semesters. University merit awards (Trustees Scholarship up to $16,000 a year for nonresidents; Presidential Scholarship up to $10,000; full-tuition Lilly Scholars) require a complete application by November 1. International students are generally not eligible for Purdue financial aid or these scholarships.
- $30,586 Indiana resident; $49,388 out-of-state; $52,698 international
- Estimated cost of attendance 2026-27
- About 15% each year
- Applicants receiving a merit award
- 69%
- Financial need met for first-year students
- $30,370 (fewer than 35% of undergraduates take on loan debt)
- Average debt at graduation
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters
First-Year Engineering
Ranked No. 8 in the U.S. for undergraduate engineering (U.S. News 2027); 34.7% admit rate and a middle-50% SAT of 1380-1520 in 2025.
Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Ranked No. 2 nationally among undergraduate programs in U.S. News' 2027 Best Colleges.
Aeronautics and Astronautics
No. 3 in the U.S. (U.S. News 2027) at the university that produced Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan.
Computer Science
Ranked No. 14 nationally in U.S. News 2027; 42.9% admit rate in 2025 with a middle-50% SAT of 1420-1530.
Professional Flight Technology
Purdue's most selective major, admitting 7.7% of applicants in 2025, with extra per-course flight fees.
Industrial Engineering
Ranked No. 2 in the U.S. among undergraduate programs in U.S. News 2027.
Research
- During World War II, Purdue physicists working on radar receivers discovered properties of germanium that led to the first transistor.
- Purdue alumni have been crew members on more than a third of NASA's crewed space missions.
- Purdue's English department launched the first Online Writing Lab (OWL) in 1994, now used by colleges worldwide.
Schools & faculties
- College of Agriculture
- College of Education
- College of Engineering
- College of Health and Human Sciences
- College of Liberal Arts
- College of Pharmacy
- College of Science
- College of Veterinary Medicine
- Daniels School of Business
- Purdue Polytechnic Institute
- John Martinson Honors College
- Exploratory Studies
College Scorecard: median earnings of $72,424 ten years after entry (and $60,838 six years after entry) for federally aided students at Purdue's main campus.
Student life
Purdue is a large Big Ten campus where almost everyone starts in university housing: 93% of first-years live in University Residences. After the first year most students move off campus, to apartments or to one of the fraternities and sororities that about 15% of men and 17% of women join. Traditions include the Big Bass Drum, played by the marching band, and the Grand Prix go-kart race, billed as the Greatest Spectacle in College Racing. With 82% of students doing internships, many summers go to work placements.
- Purdue is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and fields 18 intercollegiate teams as the Boilermakers.
- The annual Purdue Grand Prix is a student go-kart race dubbed the Greatest Spectacle in College Racing.
- 2,326 students study abroad each year.
- About 15% of men join fraternities and 17% of women join sororities (CDS 2025-26).
Housing. 93% of first-year students live in University Residences; overall about 40% of undergraduates live in university housing.
Location
West Lafayette is a college town on the Wabash River in west-central Indiana, facing the city of Lafayette across the river. Campus dominates the town, so daily life is walkable and centred on students, with farmland not far away. Indianapolis, home to Purdue's second main-campus location and the nearest major airport, lies to the southeast.
Nearest airport: Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
Notable alumni
- NA Neil ArmstrongApollo 11 commander and first person to walk on the Moon; aeronautical engineering graduate
- GG Gus GrissomMercury Seven astronaut and the second American in space
- EM Edward Mills PurcellNobel Prize-winning physicist (nuclear magnetic resonance); BS from Purdue
- MA Mohamed AtallaEngineer who co-invented the MOSFET (MOS transistor) with Dawon Kahng
- CN C. N. R. RaoChemist awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour
- IM Ian MurdockFounder of the Debian Linux project
- YZ Yitang ZhangMathematician known for his breakthrough on bounded gaps between primes
- OR Orville RedenbacherAgricultural entrepreneur behind the Orville Redenbacher popcorn brand
Frequently asked questions
What is Purdue's acceptance rate?
Purdue admitted 37,881 of 87,220 first-year applicants for fall 2025, an overall rate of 43.4%. Rates vary by major, from 34.7% for Engineering to 7.7% for Professional Flight Technology.
Does Purdue require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027?
Yes. Purdue expects SAT, ACT or CLT scores and superscores within a test; it accepts applications without scores only in exceptional cases. The middle 50% SAT of fall 2025 first-years was 1220-1470.
When is Purdue's Early Action deadline?
November 1, 2026. It is non-binding, decisions come out on January 15, and it is also the firm deadline for merit scholarships and the Honors College. Regular Decision closes January 15, 2027.
How much does Purdue cost for out-of-state and international students?
For 2026-27, tuition and fees are $9,992 for Indiana residents, $28,794 for out-of-state students and $32,104 for international students, with higher rates for engineering and computer science. Estimated total cost of attendance is $30,586, $49,388 and $52,698 respectively.
Can international students get scholarships at Purdue?
Generally not. Purdue's university merit scholarships are for domestic students only, and international undergraduates are generally not eligible for financial aid.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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