Purdue ranks first in research expenditures among Indiana universities

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University continues to cement its place as one of the nation’s leading research universities, with the latest national data placing its university research expenditures of $931.5 million for fiscal year 2024 as the highest overall in the state of Indiana, larger than any other public or private university.

“Research and development at scale is the cornerstone of Purdue as a top-tier university for Indiana,” said Dan DeLaurentis, Purdue’s executive vice president for research. “Important industry partnerships and government funding provide the resources to push new innovations and workforce development across science and engineering.”

Nationally, Purdue’s ranking improved to No. 5 among universities without human medical schools or affiliated hospitals, according to fiscal year 2024 figures recently released by the U.S. National Science Foundation, which collects data through its annual Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey.

Purdue Provost Patrick Wolfe emphasized the importance of Purdue’s progress. “Thanks to the strengthened efforts of our faculty, our postdoctoral scholars and our graduate students, Purdue has vastly expanded and accelerated its focus on research and impactful scholarly outputs. With research expenditures exceeding $1 billion for the first time in our history this past fiscal year, we will continue to make choices that support, prioritize and reward high-impact, innovative research and scholarly contributions.”

The annual HERD survey, reported one year in arrears, is the most widely accepted standard for measuring research activities across colleges and universities. HERD figures show Purdue’s research expenditures growing by almost $86 million from the prior fiscal year, 2023, and Purdue’s data shows already that in fiscal year 2025, overall research expenditures are in excess of $1 billion.

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 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations 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 integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.