Purdue ranks among top 50 global research universities powering innovation  

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University, known for its pioneering advancements and leadership in impactful research, has made the latest list of the 50 most innovative higher education institutions in the world.

Purdue is ranked No. 47 worldwide and No. 29 among private and public universities in the United States in the Top 50 Universities Powering Global Innovation report for 2024 by Clarivate, a leading global provider of transformative intelligence. Purdue was the only university from the state of Indiana on the list.

“Groundbreaking ideas driving the world’s most innovative companies often originate from academic research,” said Purdue Provost Patrick Wolfe. “The impressive showing by Purdue in the Top 50 Universities Powering Global Innovation list reflects our success in fueling technological advancements that contribute to solutions for societal challenges and accelerating economic development through our university’s long-standing focus on ‘discovery with delivery.’”

The Clarivate study identifies the top 50 universities named on academic papers receiving the most citations from patents granted to the companies and organizations on the Top 100 Global Innovators 2024 list, which has been published for 13 years through its Center for IP and Innovation Research.

The Top 50 list draws from Clarivate’s Web of Science, Derwent World Patents Index and Derwent Patents Citation Index data points in highlighting how knowledge flows between academia and industry across countries and regions, underscoring the global nature of innovation.

The latest report, produced through Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information, shows Purdue with 1,201 citations, 904 unique citing inventions and 556 unique cited research papers.

Highlights that buttress Purdue’s global recognition in the Top 50 innovation report, especially for a university without a medical school or a major Department of Defense establishment:

• Purdue received a record $647 million in research awards from federal and industry sources in fiscal year 2024, a 6% jump from the prior year and more than double the FY 2013 figures. This also marked the second consecutive year this key component of the university’s research enterprise surpassed $600 million.
• A barometer of Purdue’s thriving entrepreneurship culture, intellectual property disclosures surged nearly 17% to 466 from 400 in fiscal 2023.
• Patents issued from Purdue-led research jumped 11% to 290 while the number of patent licenses skyrocketed 49% to 224. This ecosystem helped establish 16 startup companies based on Purdue research.
• The number of research publication citations by Purdue faculty rose nearly 13% to 435,087, while the number of books published by faculty jumped nearly 40% to 60.

This past year, Purdue also was chosen to play a primary role in three national hubs — Heartland BioWorks, Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen and Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons — focused on ensuring the U.S. remains globally competitive in areas critical to national security. Plus, Purdue was selected to lead seven national research centers, including the renewal of three existing centers.

“Purdue’s recognition among the world’s top 50 universities powering global innovation is a testament to the extraordinary contributions of our faculty and students. Every day, their groundbreaking research expands the frontiers of knowledge while delivering practical solutions to the economic, security and societal challenges facing our state, our nation and the world,” said Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research.

“As the leading land-grant university in our region, Purdue has a proud legacy of discovery and innovation that has served the public good for more than 150 years. We remain steadfast to that charge by our deepening research collaborations with industry and institutions that are accelerating the translation of ideas into impact and continue to strengthen the nation’s innovation ecosystem.”

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.