Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars

Why Choose Purdue Graduate Studies?

Dedicated Faculty

Our world-renowned faculty tackles complex global issues every day. As a Purdue graduate student, you will receive personal mentoring from faculty throughout your plan of study. Here are some resources to help you select which faculty member in your department is a good fit for your research interests and career goals.

Impactful Research

Purdue is a worldwide leader in discovery and innovation. New investments in research are routine, like the recently announced one billion-dollar development of Purdue’s campus. Every new research award brings new opportunities to our programs of study and students.

  • $613 million in research awards in 2022-2023 (record)
  • Top 10 most innovative school in the U.S. 7 Years Running (U.S. News & World Report, 20235)
  • #3 Nationally for Startup Creation, Behind Only MIT and Columbia (IP Watchdog Institute, 2020)
  • #5 in the U.S. for Patents (U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office, 2023)
  • #5 in the World for Patents Received (National Academy of Inventors, 2023)

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Cutting Edge Facilities

Between Discovery Park, the Purdue Research Foundation, 133 research centers, and 13 on-campus libraries, Purdue is positioned to be a worldwide innovative leader now and well into the future.

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Financial Support

It pays to be a Purdue graduate student with various assistantships and fellowships available through the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars and individual departments.

  • #1 Best Value University in Indiana (SmartAsset, 2023)
  • #2 Best Value School in the Big Ten (SmartAsset, 2023)
  • #6 Best Value School Among All Public Universities (SmartAsset, 2023)
  • #15 Best Value Among All Nationwide Institutions (SmartAsset, 2023)

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Active Campus Community

You’ll find many opportunities to meet new people. You'll never have a boring weekend with our graduate student organizations, convocations, cultural centers, recreation center, and Big Ten athletics.

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Safe and Vibrant Community with a Low Cost of Living

West Lafayette and Lafayette boast a wide array of entertainment, food, shopping, and businesses. With a cost of living 17% lower than the national average, you'll find plenty of affordable housing options. Students also enjoy using the affordable city bus. The greater Lafayette area is centrally located - only 1 hour to Indianapolis and 2 hours to Chicago.

  • #1 Best Emerging Housing Market (Greater Lafayette) (Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com, 2023)
  • #1 Best Place in U.S. for Career Opportunities (Lafayette) (SmartAsset, 2022)
  • #1 Safest College (Academic Influence, 2024)
  • #8 Best College Town in America (Greater Lafayette) (WalletHub, 2022)
  • #8 Best College Town in the U.S. for Starting a Career (Business Insider, 2019)
  • #15 Safest U.S. College Town (Safewise, 2021) 

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Outstanding Career Preparation

Purdue offers career and professional development before and after graduation. We have graduate student job fairs and travel grants to take you to conferences nationwide. With a network of over 600,000 alumni, your relationship with Purdue will extend long after graduation.

  • #1 Best Place for Career Opportunities (Smart Asset, 2022)
  • #1 in Big 10 for producing the highest portion of graduates earning more than a high school graduate (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
  • #3 U.S. Public Institution for Co-Op and Internship Opportunities (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
  • Top 3 Best Large Employers Among U.S. Universities (Forbes, 2024)
  • Top 5 in graduate earnings (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
  • #7 Co-Op and Internship Opportunities (tied with MIT) (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
  • #8 Most Alumni Serving as Fortune 500 CEOs (Academic Influence, 2021)
  • #18 Best Career Placement Among Public Schools (The Princeton Review, 2024)
  • #16 World's Most Innovative Companies (Fast Company, 2023)
  • #36 Most Employable University Graduates (Quacquarelli Symonds, 2022)
  • #39 Most Employable University Graduates in the U.S. (Times Higher Education, 2024)

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Reputation

  • #1 Most Recognized U.S. Public University (American Caldwell GUV Rankings, 2025) 
  • #1 Public University in Indiana (U.S. News &World Report, 2025), (American Caldwell GUV Rankings, 2025), (Niche, 2024) and (Forbes, 2023)
  • #1 University in the Big 10 (American Caldwell GUV Rankings, 2025)
  • #1 University in Indiana (American Caldwell GUV Rankings, 2025)
  • #1 U.S. Public University (American Caldwell GUV Rankings, 2025)
  • #2 University in Indiana (Forbes, 2023), (Niche, 2024) and (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
  • #2 Public University in the World (American Caldwell GUV Rankings, 2025)
  • #4 Most Trusted Public University in the U.S. (Morning Consult, 2022)
  • #6 Big Ten University (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2025)
  • #8 U.S. Public University (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2025)
  • #8 Public Land Grant University (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
  • #9 Public Land Grant University (Times Higher Education, 2025) 
  • #9 Most Innovative School (U.S. News and World Report, 2025)
  • #9 Land Grant University (American Caldwell GUV Rankings, 2024)
  • #9 Globally Recognized Public University (American Caldwell GUV Rankings, 2025)
  • #12 National Campus-Wide Sustainability Efforts (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2024) 
  • #13 Public University (Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2025)
  • #18 Public University (U.S. News and World Report, 2025)
  • #19 Best National Public University (Forbes, 2023) 
  • #20 World's Best Interdisciplinary Sciences (Times Higher Education, 2025)
  • #24 Best National Public University (Niche, 2024)
  • #24 National University (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2025)
  • #32 Best College for Future Leaders (TIME and Statista, 2024)
  • #32 Best U.S. Univeristy (Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2025) 
  • #46 National University (U.S. News and World Report, 2025)
  • #51 University in the U.S. (Forbes, 2023)
  • #79 Worldwide University (only global top 100 in Indiana) (Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2025) 
  • #89 Global Public University (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2025)
  • #93 Worldwide Campus-Wide Sustainability Efforts (Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking, 2024) 

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Affordability

  • #1 Best Value University in Indiana (Smart Asset, 2023)
  • #2 Best Value University in the Big 10 (Smart Asset, 2023)
  • #3 Best Value University in Indiana (Niche, 2024)
  • #6 Best Value Public University in the U.S. (SmartAsset, 2023)
  • #7 Best Value School in the U.S. (The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, 2022)
  • Top 10 Best Value Public University in the U.S. (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
  • #15 Best Value University in the U.S. (Smart Asset, 2023)
  • #20 Best Value Public University (Princeton Review, 2024)
  • 13 Years Straight of Frozen Tuition

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Innovation

  • #1 Most Innovative Educational Institution Worldwide for Training Semiconductor Engineers (Fast Company, 2023)
  • #3 Most Innovative U.S. Public University (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
  • #3 U.S. University for Startup Creation (Behind Only MIT and Columbia) and (IP Watchdog Institute, 2020)
  • #5 U.S. Company for Patents (U.S. Patents and Trademark Office, 2023)
  • #5 Internationally for Patents (National Academy of Inventors, 2023)
  • #9 Most Innovative U.S. University (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
  • #16 Most Innovative Company Worldwide (Fast Company, 2023)
  • Only University Among Brands That Matter (For Four Years Running) (Fast Company, 2024)

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Campus Culture

  • #1 Best Campus for LGBTQ+ students in Indiana (Best Colleges, 2023)
  • #2 Institution in the Big Ten for International Student Enrollment (Open Doors Report, 2023)
  • #4 U.S. Public University for International Enrollment (Open Doors Report, 2024)
  • #9 U.S. Institution for International Student Enrollment (Open Doors, 2024)
  • #14 Best University for Veterans (College Consensus, 2023)
  • 12,917 graduate students from 108 countries (Fall 2024)

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Top Ranked Programs

Biological Sciences

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Chemistry

  • #1 Best Analytical Chemistry graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
  • #27 Best Chemistry graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Communication

  • #1 Best Communication online master's program (MastersinCommunication.org, 2023)

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Computer Science

  • #19 Best Computer Science graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025), with specific graduate programs ranked as follows:
    • #13 Systems (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #15 Programming Language (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #26 Artificial Intelligence (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

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Economics

  • #49 Best Economics graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Education

  • #48 Best College of Education (U.S. News & World Report, 2025), with it's online master's degree program ranked #15 (U.S. News & World Report, 2023) and #1 in Indiana (U.S. News and World Report, 2025), with specific online master's degree programs ranked as follows:
    • #6 Curriculum and Instruction (U.S. News and World Report, 2025)
    • #10 Instructional Media Design (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #10 Learning Design and Technology (U.S. News and World Report, 2024)
    • #11 Educational Administration (U.S. News and World Report, 2025)
    • #13 Special Education (U.S. News and World Report, 2025)

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Engineering

  • #6 Best U.S. College of Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025) and #13 Best U.S. Public College of Engineering (Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2025) with sspecific graduate programs ranked as follows:
    • #1 Agricultural and Biological Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #2 Aeronautics and Astronautics (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #5 Civil Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #6 Industrial Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #7 Biomedical Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
    • #7 Electrical Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #8 Mechanical Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #8 Computer Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #9 Environmental and Ecological Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
    • #10 Nuclear Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #12 Materials Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025) 
  • #3 Best College of Engineering online master's degree program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025), with specific online master's degree programs ranked as follows:
    • #1 Most Affordable in Computer Engineering (Best Universities, 2024)
    • #1 Engineering Management (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #1 Industrial Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #1 Mechanical Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #1 Electrical Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #2 Civil Engineering (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #5 Online Master's programs for Veterans (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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English

  • #46 Best English graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Management (Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business)

  • Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business graduate programs are ranked as follows:
    • #3 Production and Operations Management MBA program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #4 Project Management MBA program (College Consensus, 2024) and (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #7 Supply Chain Management/Logistics (College Consensus, 2024) and (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #12 Business Analytics and Information Management (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
    • #26 Best Accelerated One-Year MBA (College Consensus, 2024)
    • #35 Part-Time MBA (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Mathematics

  • #37 Best Mathematics graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025), with specific graduate programs ranked as follows:
    • #20 Analysis (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #24 Applied Math (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Nursing

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Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

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Physics and Astronomy

  • #38 Best Physics graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Psychological Sciences

  • #46 Best Psychology graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025) and #3 in Indiana (U.S. News & World Report, 2025), with specific graduate programs ranked as follows:
    • #7 Industrial-Organizational Psychology (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
    • #43 Clinical Psychology  (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Speech, Language, and Hearing Science

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Statistics

  • #22 Best Statistics graduate program (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)

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Veterinary Medicine

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Statistics last updated October 31, 2024.