Purdue Engineering Celebrates Graduate Student Excellence with Spring 2025 Events
Purdue University's College of Engineering honored its current and future graduate students through a series of impactful events this spring. Graduate Engineering showcased a wide array of student contributions to research, education, and innovation by hosting recognition programs, creating opportunities for collaboration, engaging with prospective students, and continuing to establish a community network in graduate engineering education - while also celebrating record-breaking application numbers for Fall 2025.
This April, Purdue’s College of Engineering returns to the top 5 ranking in the country in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Engineering Schools survey - the highest overall score this century.
Recognizing Excellence
This year’s Graduate Student Appreciation Week in early April highlighted the achievements of Purdue Engineering graduate students, whose groundbreaking research and academic excellence have elevated Purdue's reputation globally. The university and Purdue Graduate Student Government hosted various activities to express gratitude for the pivotal role these students played in addressing global challenges and advancing engineering excellence.
The College of Engineering also recognized 63 graduate student awardees and faculty mentors for their exceptional contributions at the Graduate Awards Banquet (April 16, 2025). Awards include the Estus H. and Vashti L. Magoon Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Research, Outstanding Service Scholarships, and Outstanding Faculty Mentor honors. These accolades underscore the dedication of Purdue’s engineering community to academic and professional excellence.
Career & Research Connections
The inaugural Virtual Graduate Student Career Fair on February 24, 2025, was a resounding success, featuring prominent companies like 3M, Cadence, and Orano Med. Over 400 one-on-one meetings took place between students and recruiters, with 314 graduate students participating. This success highlights the growing importance of virtual career fairs in connecting talented graduate students with top employers.
Graduate students and postdocs also united for Purdue Engineering Graduate Program’s first Indianapolis Research Symposium on April 4, 2025 in Indianapolis. The event featured poster sessions and lab tours, promoting collaboration across Purdue locations while highlighting innovative research.
Undergraduate Research: A Pipeline to Graduate School
Purdue’s undergraduate research programs are growing, with record-breaking interest and new initiatives. The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) 2025 received over 3,800 applications—its most competitive cycle yet. Nearly 200 students, including five at Purdue Indianapolis, have confirmed participation in the 11-week program, which includes faculty-mentored research, professional development, and a final symposium.
The STARS (Summer Training in Advanced Research for Students) program will welcome 60 students from over 1,000 applicants, focusing on microelectronics, semiconductors, and advanced materials. Supported by industry partnerships, STARS prepares students for careers in critical technology sectors while engaging with the broader SURF community.
This spring, First-Time Researcher (FTR) Fellows presented their work at Purdue’s Undergraduate Research Conference (April 9–10, West Lafayette). Undergraduate researchers at Purdue in Indianapolis also expand their research opportunities through faculty mentorship and student support, thanks to a Purdue ExEd Innovation Grant.
Engaging with Prospective Graduate Engineering Students
Graduate Engineering engaged with prospective students through events including:
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Early Discovery Program (Jan 2025): Now in its ninth year, this virtual initiative prepared undergraduates for graduate school through early engagement in research and professional development. Current graduate students served as mentors in this program.
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NSBE National Convention (March 2025): Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Society of Black Engineers (founded at Purdue), over 30 graduate students, staff, and faculty joined ~100 undergraduates in Chicago for a career and graduate school fair, poster and oral research presentations, and workshops. Purdue honored its legacy as the founding university of NSBE, while fostering connections among Boilermakers nationwide.
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Graduate Engineering Navigators launched this academic year to serve as a bridge between prospective graduate students and Purdue Engineering. In their inaugural year, Navigators hosted information sessions and attended graduate/career fairs to engage international students with Purdue Graduate Engineering Programs. They mentor prospective graduate students, share insights into the graduate experience, and support and grow partnerships that open doors for future Boilermakers.
Establishing National Community and Research in Graduate Engineering
Dr. Jackie McDermott has founded the Engineering Graduate Admissions Professionals (EngGAP) community through the NAGAP professional society. Developing EngGAP has positioned Purdue as a leader in graduate education advocacy. Through webinars and national convention meet-ups, EngGAP expands outreach to prospective students while strengthening professional networks of administrators at top engineering universities.
The Office of Graduate Education will present multiple research papers at the 2025 ASEE Annual Conference in Montreal, showcasing efforts to strengthen graduate school pathways. One study analyzes nine years of data from the Early Discovery program, highlighting its impact on freshman and sophomore students exploring research. Another paper introduces an algorithm to streamline graduate school-focused mentoring circles, improving mentor-mentee matching. A third paper analyzes the use of project management principles to administer a graduate engineering recruitment initiative. Additionally, a Work-in-Progress paper explores how Backwards Design Principles can be applied to redesign a summer research experience for undergraduates, ensuring more intentional skill development. These studies reflect Purdue’s commitment to data-driven approaches that enhance research experiences and graduate education access.
What’s Next for Purdue Graduate Engineering
Looking ahead to Summer and Fall 2025, Purdue Engineering has several exciting initiatives planned:
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Summer Fun for Graduate Students and their Families – stay tuned for details!
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GradTrack Mentoring Program Applications: Applications close on April 28th for the GradTrack Mentoring Program starting in Fall 2025. This initiative pairs senior undergraduates with Purdue research based graduate mentors to foster academic success and professional development through six virtual sessions from August to October.
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The Purdue Engineering Virtual Graduate Showcase takes place during the fall 2025 semester on September 28 and 29. This event provides prospective graduate students with an opportunity to explore Purdue's engineering programs through live virtual sessions featuring faculty presentations, student panels, and Q&A opportunities with admissions staff. Join our Mailing List to receive up-to-date information about the 2025 Purdue Engineering Virtual Graduate Showcase.
Through these upcoming events and programs, Purdue University continues to demonstrate its commitment to fostering a vibrant engineering community while preparing the next generation of innovators to tackle global challenges. Stay informed and engage with us by checking out upcoming events for prospective graduate students here.
Don’t miss your chance to explore what Purdue Graduate Engineering has to offer!
Questions? Email us at engrgrad@purdue.edu.
