School and Department Facts and Figures

Aeronautics and Astronautics

  • 37 faculty, approximately 1,000 undergraduate and 600 graduate students
  • Undergraduate program ranked 5th and graduate program ranked 4th by U.S. News & World Report
  • School was formally founded in 1945 and has granted more than 12,200 degrees including BS in Aeronautical Engineering, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Air Transportation and Engineering Science as well as MS and PhDs focused on these disciplines
  • Alumni play leadership roles in many aerospace engineering organizations
  • Approximately $18 million external research expenditures annually by faculty acknowledged as experts in Aerodynamics, Aerospace Systems, Astrodynamics and Space Applications, Dynamics and Control, Propulsion, and Structures and Materials
  • As of 2010, Purdue AAE had graduated the most aerospace engineering degrees in the U.S. over the previous ten years, and awarded 6% of all BS and 7% of all PhD during the previous 40 years.

Agricultural & Biological Engineering

  • Consistently ranked in the top 5 by US News—have been #1 for the past eight consecutive years
  • Program is known for:
    • Small class size—students know how to interact with others
    • Individualized advising and attention by faculty
    • Practical curriculum for industrial careers
    • Undergraduate research opportunities
  • Areas of Study include:
    • Machine Systems Engineering
    • Environmental & Natural Resources Engineering
    • Biological Engineering
    • Food Process Engineering
    • Agricultural Systems Management

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering

  • $10M endowment from Weldon family created first named engineering school at Purdue
  • $25M 91,000 gsf Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering; $18M, 30,000 gsf Innovation Wing completed in 2018
  • 30 core faculty members; 20% are female
  • 100+ U.S. patents, over half licensed to company partners
  • More than 6 million patients worldwide directly helped through biomedical innovations
  • Undergraduate program ranked 23rd, graduate ranked 29th by the U.S. News & World Report
  • 25+ companies started; $75M+ venture capital raised
  • NIH MSTP and diabetes technologies training grant with Indiana University School of Medicine training 20+ MD/PhDs
  • Extensive industrial and global partnerships for experiential learning and employment
  • Novel distance-learning and professional master's programs

Davidson School of Chemical Engineering

  • First privately funded engineering building in Purdue history
  • Undergraduate ranked 13th, graduate ranked 15th by the U.S. News & World Report
  • $20M addition completed Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering in 2004
  • 20 corporations are members of industrial advisory council
  • Fall 2015: 566 undergraduate students; 151 graduate students - consistently ranked among top four nationally as a producer of B.S. and PhD degree candidates
  • 35 faculty members; including six members of National Academy of Engineers

Lyles School of Civil Engineering

  • Undergraduate and Graduate programs ranked 6th by the U.S. News & World Report
  • U.S. News & World Report rankings—undergraduate and graduate
  • Among the largest undergraduate civil engineering programs in the U.S.- confirmed
  • Over 1,400 Civil alumni currently serving in C-suite positions
  • First female engineering graduate from Purdue—Martha Stevens 1897
  • First black engineering graduate from Purdue—David Robert Lewis, 1894
  • 63 faculty, 341 graduate and 505 undergraduate students in 2017-18

Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • Established in 1888, Purdue ECE is the largest school at Purdue
  • Home of nanoHUB, a scientific cloud computing resource
  • Birthplace of National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
  • Former head, Reginald Fessenden, invented radio telephony
  • Largest grad program at Purdue -  more than 1,000 MS and PhD students
  • With 115+ members, faculty among largest in nation
  • Two undergraduate degree programs with more than 1,700 students
  • $44+ million annual research expenditures
  • More than 23,000 alumni
  • #1 online graduate ECE program
  • #10 ranked EE and CompE undergrad programs
  • #9 ranked EE and CompE graduate programs
  • More than 2200 applicants to graduate program annually
  • 42 IEEE Fellows and a former IEEE president
  • 6 National Academy of Engineering members, 6 National Academy of Inventors members, 1 Gordon prize winner, and 3 Frontiers of Engineering alumni
  • 9 American Physical Society and 11 Optical Society of America Fellows
  • Highest volume of research among all Purdue schools and departments
  • Home of the nanoHUB, a pioneering scientific end-to-end cloud computing environment for nanotechnology and beyond

Engineering Education

  • Transforming Engineering Education based on Educational Scholarship and Research
  • National and global leader in shaping engineering education as a scholarly discipline
  • Home of the First-Year Engineering Program (since 1953)
  • Ideas to Innovation Learning Laboratory (2008), team-based, experiential learning and first IMPACT style classroom at Purdue
  • World's first School of Engineering Education (2004)
  • Graduate and Undergraduate programs are ranked 9th in the U.S. News & World Report
  • B.S.in Multidisciplinary Engineering and in Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies; an incubator for new engineering programs and customized plans for study for individual students (since 1969)
  • World's first graduate degree program in Engineering Education (2005); 59 PhDs plus 5 Master graduates in first decade
  • INSPIRE: a research-based Institute for Pre-College Engineering (2006)
  • Graduate Certificate in Engineering Education (2015)

Environmental and Ecological Engineering

  • An independent academic unit launched by the College of Engineering in July 2006.
  • Takes a systems approach to solving complex environmental and ecological engineering issues.
  • Undergraduate program ranked 12th and graduate program ranked 18th in the nation this year (2019 U.S. News & World Report).
  • Fall 2018 enrollment was 138 undergraduate students and 46 graduate students.
  • Small academic unit results in close relationship between faculty and students with advantages of being in a top-tier engineering college.
  • Environmental and Ecological Engineering major and minor offered to all qualified students.
  • Offers MS (thesis, non-thesis, and professional masters) and PhD degrees.
  • Combined degree program allows students to receive a BS degree, and with one additional year of study, a non-thesis Master of Science in Environmental and Ecological Engineering (MSEEE) degree. This is accomplished by dual-counting 9 appropriate course credits at the 500 level on the Purdue BS and MSEEE Plans-of-Study. Collaborating BS programs are: Environmental and Ecological Engineering (BSEEE), Agricultural Engineering (BSAE), Biological Engineering (BSBE), Chemical Engineering (BSChE), Civil Engineering (BSCE), Industrial Management (BSIM), Materials Engineering (BSMSE), or Natural Resources and Environmental Science (NRES).
  • The United States Department of Labor predicts 22% growth in environmental engineering jobs over the next decade, leading to the creation of more than 22,000 new jobs in the field of environmental engineering by 2020.

Industrial Engineering

  • Undergraduate program ranked 3rd, graduate ranked 9th
  • Pioneered the Industrial Engineering discipline with Dr. Lillian Gilbreth on the faculty in the 1930's
  • Ranked among the top three IE programs in the United States
  • Outstanding graduates who hold top executive positions in many Fortune 500 companies
  • Positions available for more than ten new faculty members
  • Flexible program with an opportunity to pursue a minor in electrical and mechanical engineering, economics, management, liberal arts, and various branches of science including: mathematics, statistics, and computer science
  • Diverse mix of US and international students

Materials Engineering

  • Undergraduate ranked 11th, graduate ranked 15th
  • One of the smallest student to faculty ratios in Engineering
  • High student involvement in study abroad
  • Industry–based and supported senior project capstone course
  • Students placed in every industry sector
  • Strong communication skills, according to feedback from employers

Mechanical Engineering

  • Ranked #8 undergraduate and #8 graduate program in the country (US News)
  • 1,500 undergraduate students and 800 graduate students
  • Online Master's program ranked #1 in the country (US News)
  • First School of Engineering at Purdue, founded 1882
  • More than 20 different research areas
  • 97% of undergrads participate in experiential learning (internship, co-op, research)
  • 98% pass rate on the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam
  • Home to the world's largest academic propulsion lab (Zucrow Labs), and the world's largest academic HVAC lab (Herrick Labs)

Nuclear Engineering

  • Leader in reactor thermal hydraulics, plasma/materials interactions/nuclear fusion engineering
  • Recognized as a key participant in Nuclear Engineering University Programs, plasma/material interaction focal point for U.S. and world fusion reaction design (ITER), significant contributor to National Nuclear and Homeland Security, important partner to key high-end industrial companies, and may others. 
  • 10th Graduate Nuclear Engineering Program (US News Rankings)
  • Among highest per faculty external research funding in CoE
  • Vibrant international collaborations (Japan, Germany, Ireland, Russia, France, S. Korea, Argentina, China)
  • Strong undergraduate research program
  • New programs in nuclear medicine, imaging, plasmas, instrumentation, homeland security, Biomedical applications of pulsed power and plasmas
  • Leader in global nuclear renaissance
  • The School of Nuclear Engineering produces on average about 10 percent of all dedicated BS and PhD graduates in nuclear engineering nationwide.

Online Engineering

  • Top-Ranking Global Provider of Online Graduate Engineering Programs
  • Same High Quality Degrees and Courses as On-campus
  • Masters Degrees in Aerospace, Electrical & Computer, Industrial, and Mechanical Engineering
  • Flexible Interdisciplinary Masters Degrees Customizable for Industry
  • Dual MSE+MBA in partnership with Indiana University
  • Professional Development Short Courses Online (LSS and Project Management Courses)
  • Among the Largest Online Course Selections, https://engineering.purdue.edu/online