Engineering Majors at Purdue
The College of Engineering offers 18 undergraduate engineering programs for students to choose from. When you add in minors, certificate programs, and major specializations, there's over 80 pathways for engineering students to choose from!
The good news is that you don't have to know which major you want just yet! Instead, all undergraduate engineering students at Purdue West Lafayette apply to and start in our First-Year Engineering program and then choose their desired major in their second semester on campus. For more information on that, check out 'What is First-Year Engineering?' on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
To get an early start, here's a list of all 18 engineering majors, complete with introductory videos and links to learn more.
If you'd like to visit with staff in one of our majors, see our drop-in academic office hours below:
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $77,167
PLACEMENT RATE: 98%
Continue Purdue's proud aerospace tradition by pursuing the design, creation and operation of aircraft and rotorcraft (aeronautics) or rockets, spacecraft, and space-based systems (astronautics). The aero & astro degree helps launch your career in aviation, defense, space exploration, and other fields.
Contact Info:
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $65,664
PLACEMENT RATE: 92%
As an agricultural engineer, you can develop systems, processes, and machines to generate energy, food, and water. Careers include work in equipment design and manufacture, and materials handling, in areas such as agriculture, construction, mining, forestry, and food and fiber production and processing.
Contact Info:
Dan Taylor, taylordc@purdue.edu
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $73,694
PLACEMENT RATE: 95%
Biological engineers work in the large-scale manufacture of food, biological, and pharmaceutical products, applying basic scientific and engineering principles. Such products - biofuels, human therapeutics, new foods - are environmentally friendly and renewable, representing a future wave of consumer demand for better health and environment.
Contact Info:
Dan Taylor, taylordc@purdue.edu
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $76,973
PLACEMENT RATE: 98.5%
Biomedical engineers innovate medical devices, create advanced therapeutics, and make better systems for healthcare diagnostics and delivery. Purdue biomedical engineers apply their technical skills in engineering design and biomedical sciences to develop solutions to challenges in human medicine. Experiential learning is central to the BS BME program of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering which includes a wide range of specializations.
Contact Info:
WeldonBMEUndergrad@purdue.edu
765-494-2995
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $75,416
PLACEMENT RATE: 97.5%
With a degree in chemical engineering, you can work in a range of industries - including the chemical, energy, oil, biotechnology, consumer products, or pharmaceutical industries - that transform raw materials into beneficial products. Chemical engineers are vital in developing industrial processes that meet the world's demand for high-value-added products (petrochemicals, nutritional products, alternative energy, personal electronic, drug delivery systems, and more).
Contact Info:
chemeundergrad@purdue.edu
765-494-5650
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $68,255
PLACEMENT RATE: 100%
Civil engineers design, build, and sustain the world. They process geospatial data and create innovative materials to develop skylines, protect natural resources, integrate multiple modes of transport systems, provide clean water and energy, mitigate natural and man-made hazards, and provide environmental protection. Civil Engineers continuously improve the way we live.
Contact Info:
ceugrad@purdue.edu
765-494-2166
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $103,374
PLACEMENT RATE: 98%
As a computer engineer, you will have the ability to develop both hardware and software by applying knowledge from sub-fields within both electrical engineering and computer science. Your possible career paths include developing and maintaining software, VLSI chip design, computer systems design, and applications of digital systems in nearly every industry - computer, communications, information technology, automotive, and aerospace, to name a few.
Contact Info:
eceugo@purdue.edu
765-494-3390
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $66,052
PLACEMENT RATE: 100%
Construction engineers design and build the infrastructure of our society to shape where we work, live, and play. Purdue's unique program prepares you for engineering and project management responsibilities within the construction industry. Featuring three 12-week paid internships, the program has consistently placed 100 percent of its graduates in jobs upon graduation.
Contact Info:
Bonnie Sondgeroth, bonniek@purdue.edu
765-494-2243
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $82,731
PLACEMENT RATE: 99%
Electrical engineering offers opportunities in a very broad range of subfields that touch almost every aspect of the human experience. These include power systems, communications, nanotechnology, biomedical instrumentation and electronic gadgets - nearly anything that involves electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. Today's world depends upon the technology developed and supported by electrical engineers, and the industries in which you can pursue a career range from high-technology to many types of manufacturing.
Contact Info:
eceugo@purdue.edu
765-494-3390
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $65,367
PLACEMENT RATE: 100%
Environmental and ecological engineers respond to environmental challenges and opportunities to improve drinking water quality, minimize and treat waste streams, remediate brownfields, restore ecosystems, optimize resource conservation, and manage air and water quality. Careers include work in water treatment, industrial sustainability, life cycle assessment, sustainable design, environmental policy, risk management and public health engineering.
Contact Info:
eee@purdue.edu
765-496-9697
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $65,664
PLACEMENT RATE: 92%
Environmental and natural resources engineers (ENRE) can work in areas of water resources engineering, air quality, soil conservation, and sustainable food production. ENRE's think about how water and pollutants flow through natural systems and how engineers can use ecosystems processes to reduce pollution. ENRE's create soil and water conservation systems, analyze ecosystem processes, and develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems at local and global levels.
Contact Info:
Dan Taylor, taylordc@purdue.edu
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $77,029
PLACEMENT RATE: 100%
Industrial engineers design human-integrated systems that produce products and services that people can use effectively and efficiently. Combining expertise in math, engineering, and the management and behavioral sciences, industrial engineers design and streamline industrial or logistical processes, incorporate human factors, ensure quality control on the plan floor, and design manufacturing plants. Careers include work in healthcare, postal/package delivery services, airlines, space programs, hospitals, banking, amusement parks, manufacturing, and more.
Contact Info:
Morgan Kuryla, mkuryla@purdue.edu
765-494-2293
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $69,707
PLACEMENT RATE: 96.5%
If you want to explore courses that include the engineering sciences, but aren’t really interested in practicing engineering, the Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies program might be right for you. This bachelor of science degree (not a bachelor of science in engineering) allows you greater flexibility to develop a plan of study that crosses engineering and non-engineering disciplines. The IDE program offers two plans of studies: Pre-Medical Engineering Studies and Engineering Science Studies. This program is NOT ABET accredited.
Contact Info:
ide@ecn.purdue.edu
765-494-7422
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $71,720
PLACEMENT RATE: 100%
Materials engineers are at the forefront of nanotechnology, biomaterials, and microelectronics, as well as traditional technical fields. A degree in this discipline equips you to analyze the structure and composition of metals, plastics, ceramics, composites, and other materials - at the atomic level through the macroscopic - to control their strength, thermal conductivity, and other properties for custom-tailored results. Materials engineers work in industries including healthcare, the automotive industry, aero/astro companies, consumer products, energy production, and sports.
Contact Info:
Rosemary Son, son39@purdue.edu
765-494-4105
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $75,288
PLACEMENT RATE: 96%
Mechanical engineers work across virtually all industries in design, manufacturing, and production, developing products, machinery, and systems including engines and turbines, vehicles, building services, and industrial plants. As a mechanical engineer, you can pursue a career from sectors including aerospace/defense, automotive, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, chemical and petroleum, computers and electronics, construction, consumer and food products, energy and nuclear, engineering consulting, and heavy off-road equipment.
Contact Info:
meundergrad@purdue.edu
765-494-5689
Purdue University in Indianapolis is the only institution in the nation that offers an undergraduate motorsports engineering program recognized by ABET. Our students pursue internships and careers with NASCAR and IndyCar teams, as well as companies like SpaceX, Harley-Davidson, Ford, Polaris, GM, Cummins and Caterpillar.
Contact Info:
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $69,707
PLACEMENT RATE: 96.5%
If you want a career practicing engineering but your specific career goals fall outside the traditional engineering fields, this flexible, ABET accredited program allows you to select from established plans of study that fall at the interface between engineering and other disciplines, or in a niche between engineering disciplines. Choose from Acoustical Engineering, Engineering Management, Theatre Engineering, General Engineering and many more. Still not finding a good fit for your interests? A self-design plan option may be a possibility for you (within limitations and capacity constraints).
Contact Info:
ide@ecn.purdue.edu
765-494-7422
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY: $68,371
PLACEMENT RATE: 95%
As a nuclear engineer, you can help create economical, safe nuclear power plants that protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, design the fusion reactors of the future, create systems for deep-space missions, combat cancer, develop semiconductors and other cutting-edge materials, or safeguard national security through stewardship of nuclear weapons. The School of Nuclear Engineering offers three main areas of study: Energy Materials and Radioactive Waste Management, Nuclear Fusion, and Nuclear Power Engineering.
Contact Info:
ne@purdue.edu
765-494-5749