The Purdue School of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AAE) continues to earn its recognition as a top-tier program for undergraduate aerospace engineering education. For the second year in a row, the school is ranked #3 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges rankings for 2025. The U.S. News rankings, now in their 40th year, evaluate nearly 1,500 national colleges and universities on up to 17 measures of academic quality, and place an emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduating college students.

“As our enrollment continues trending upward, we are thrilled to once again be recognized as one of the top programs in the country. We are committed to maintaining our high reputation and providing our students with the best possible education. Their success as aerospace engineers paints a bright future for people wanting to travel efficiently across the world, and for those who want to work in and explore space,” said professor Bill Crossley, the Uhrig & Vournas Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

This twice-consecutive achievement marks a significant milestone for the program, which has seen a significant increase in enrollment in the last five years — reflecting the growing demand for Purdue graduates, and demand for aerospace engineers around the world. Purdue now grants more aerospace engineering degrees than any other school in the U.S.

Purdue AAE offers a variety of important specializations within our undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Students are drawn by incredible research opportunities, exciting aerospace related student organization activities AAE's program, as well as the success of its alumni. Purdue’s graduates include 27 NASA and commercial astronauts and leaders in public and private aerospace organizations around the world.

AAE faculty regularly win awards for outstanding teaching from outside organizations. The J. Leland Atwood Award, issued jointly by ASEE and AIAA, recognizes outstanding contributions to both the aerospace field and engineering education. Professor Steve Heister earned that award in 2024, and professor emeritus John Sullivan earned it in 2022. Senior research associate Waterloo Tsutsui earned the Engineering Excellence Award from NSPE in 2023.

Faculty are also regularly named among Purdue University's finest educators — most recently, professor Karen Marais became the 12th AAE faculty member to be inducted into Purdue's Book of Great Teachers. Departmend head and professor Bill Crossley is one of four to earn the Murphy Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching.

AAE is one of four programs within Purdue Engineering to be ranked in the top 4 nationally. Overall, the College of Engineering is ranked #8 in the United States.