As Purdue University continues to position itself as a premier teaching, learning and research institution, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering will proceed with its support of students, faculty, programs and facilities through various initiatives.

Undergraduate Student Support

Purdue was recently ranked as the No. 5 undergraduate civil engineering program in the nation, and endowed scholarships enable the Lyles School to continue its commitment to quality and diversity by recruiting and retaining the best, most creative students. Of the 529 undergraduate students enrolled in Civil Engineering for 2019-20, 38% are Indiana residents and 30% are women. Meanwhile, international students represent 13% of this class, compared with an international undergraduate student enrollment of just over 18% for the broader College of Engineering. We want to build on these numbers.

Graduate Student Support

To be competitive, and to build on our ranking as the No. 6 graduate program in the nation, we must be able to offer appropriate levels of tuition and living stipends to our graduate students. Endowed fellowships attract outstanding graduate students, bolstering the reputation of Purdue Civil Engineering as a nationally ranked program and drawing high-quality faculty and increased research funding.

Faculty Support

Endowed professorships attract and retain top faculty, and the Lyles School added eight endowed professorships during Ever True: The Campaign for Purdue University. Currently, 17 members of the faculty are recognized for their professional accomplishments with named professorships. We look to grow that total even further.

Rising Star faculty endowments recognize and retain accomplished early-career professors who are not yet candidates for named professorships. To help retain our talented faculty, an early-career faculty award may be given to assistant or associate professors and provide significant incentives, including annual discretionary funds for innovation, education and research. Access to this type of financial support enables young scholars to realize their full potential while maintaining a focus on teaching and research.

Support of Programs

The Civil Engineering Global Scholars Program allows Civil Engineering students to earn academic credit while traveling internationally with faculty and staff. Through this program, students visit major civil engineering projects taking place in an international context. Broadening experiences like these are important for our students, and we look to grow the program to include at least 25% of all undergraduate Civil Engineering students. Virtual laboratories allow students to become familiar with the equipment and laboratory protocols before they enter the physical laboratory setting. Completing initial training online allows students to be more efficient with experiments and accelerates the proficiency of every student in the class.

Purdue Engineering announced a new online MS degree option for civil engineering, and we are scheduled to launch the program with the first cohort of graduate students in fall 2020.

Support for Facilities

The repair, renovation and repurposing of the teaching laboratories and research spaces throughout Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering help to educate and equip future civil engineers. These efforts are part of our ongoing commitment to increase building efficiency, improve circulation and configure current spaces to meet the contemporary needs of our students and educators.