Information for Prospective Graduate Students

A Top-Quality Program

The Purdue University Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering is consistently ranked among the top in the nation. In fact, our graduate program has been ranked #1 by US News & World Report for ten of the last twelve years. Excellent facilities and internationally-known faculty support an average of 110 graduate students per year. Tour the ABE Building

Agricultural & Biological Engineering at Purdue University

Graduate Program Deadline---December 1 each year.

All applications and supporting materials must be submitted by December 1 each year to be considered for admission into the MS or PhD graduate program. *Due to extenuating circumstances surrounding COVID-19, applications will be accepted after this deadline. All applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis as applications are received. To be considered for Graduate Fellowships, applicants must submit all materials by the December 1 deadline. Early application is strongly encouraged.

Timetable below with key steps in the application and admissions process for the ABE graduate program:

Date Process Event
December 1 All application materials received by the Graduate School
Mid-December Review of applications by the ABE Graduate Committee
Mid- January Applicants should reach out to specific faculty members in their area of interest. Faculty will also begin contacting promising students.
Mid-March Notification of acceptance and offers of financial support
April 15 Applicants accept or reject offers
3rd week of August Admitted students arrive on campus for program orientation and start of semester

Degree Programs

We are always looking for outstanding students to join our innovative graduate degree programs.  

Two master’s degrees are offered: Master of Science in Agricultural and Biological Engineering (MS-ABE), for students with a baccalaureate engineering degree, and Master of Science (MS): for students with non-engineering baccalaureate degrees.

The Ph.D. at Purdue is not designated by area of specialization and is available to outstanding students desiring an engineering, technology, or systems management program in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department.  A Direct-to-PhD option is newly available for students enrolling in Fall 2020.

We are a member department of Purdue's Ecological Sciences and Engineering interdisciplinary graduate program, which has its own requirements that must be fulfilled in addition to those in ABE. Many ABE students are part of the PULSe Interdisciplinary Life Science Program. Please visit their websites for more information.

We also offer concentrations in the following areas, which reflect a specialized area of graduate study on a student’s final transcript: Biotechnology Innovation and Regulatory Science, Ecological Sciences and Engineering, and  Fluid Power.

More information on our Masters and PhD degrees is available at this website. 

*Direct-to-PhD Option for new students enrolling Fall 2020*

Graduate Research Opportunities

Grad student conducting an experiment

The Agricultural and Biological Engineering conducts cutting-edge research in the following areas. To find out more about specific opportunities, please identify potential faculty members in your area by browsing ABE Faculty by Area of Interest. 

  • Biological Engineering
  • Food, Pharmaceutical, and Biological Process Engineering
  • Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering
  • Machine Systems Engineering
  • Agricultural Systems, Safety, and Health
  • Data Science and Digital Agriculture

 

Applying

We welcome your application for admission to our graduate program.  In order to receive maximum consideration for financial support, your application and all supporting documentation should be received on or before the dates listed below:

Fall Summer preceding Fall Spring of following year
December 1 December 1 October 1

*Due to extenuating circumstances surrounding COVID-19, applications will be accepted after this deadline. All applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis as applications are received.


In order to receive maximum consideration for financial support, submit your application by the above dates.

For additional details on application requirements, see:

Submit your application online via the Graduate School’s application website.  For more information contact Nikki Zimmerman at (765) 494-1166.

Funding

Prestigious fellowships are available for outstanding graduate students who plan to complete a Ph.D. Nearly all graduate students in our department are supported by fellowships or research assistantships, which fund both Ph.D. and M.S. students. Research projects that fund assistantships change each year, so contact specific faculty (see below) to determine opportunities for which you may be qualified.

Please note the dates above (Applying) in order to receive maximum financial consideration.

Graduate Student Ambassadors

Have a question you would like to ask of a current ABE graduate student? Please feel free to reach out to one of our ambassadors. They are happy to help answer any questions you have about admissions, the ABE department, and the University.

  • Md. Samiul Basir (mbasir@purdue.edu) | Master's student studying Agricultural Metadata Collection Application with Dr. Dennis Buckmaster | from Bangladesh | Interests: Writing plays, acting, poetry, making small automated tools and 3-D drawing
  • Hannah Boland (hboland@purdue.edu) | Master's student studying Cavitation reduction in scaled axial piston pumps through experimentation and numerical modelling with Dr. Lizhi Shang | from Culver, IN, USA | Interests: Purdue Bands & Orchestras, ABE GSA Recruitment Chair, running, and studying Mandarin
  • Javier Munoz (munoz99@purdue.edu) | PhD student studying Sytems and Computational Biology of Host Microbiome Interactions with Dr. Douglas Brubaker and Dr. David Umulis | from Ecuador | Interests: Purdue Microbiome Applied Sciences Group, Data Science, Ecuadorians in Purdue Association, Soccer Teams.  
  • Akhere Olenloa (aolenloa@purdue.edu) | PhD student studying Grain storage management and stored grain technologies with Dr. Klein Ileleji | from Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria | Interests: I like to watch and play soccer, volleball, meeting and networking with people, and volunteering
  • Jennifer Rackliffe (jracklif@purdue.edu) | PhD student studying Converting organic waste into renewable natural gas via microbes (anaerobic digestion) with Dr. Nathan Mosier | from Colorado Springs, CO, USA | Interests: In my time outside school, I enjoy hiking, reading, biking, gardening, and caring for my infant daughter
  • Diana Ramirez (ramir120@purdue.edu) | PhD student studying Production of biomass  slurries by enzymatic liquefaction) with Prof. Michael Ladisch | from Bogota, Colombia | Interests: I like being an active member of the ABE GSA, I have been the president and also volunteer for other positions. I like to paint and dance ballet in my free time.