Purdue University-Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN · Public · 44,503 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test scores required
$60 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$5,098
$30,000 – $48,000	$6,241
$48,000 – $75,000	$9,438
$75,000 – $110,000	$18,177
Over $110,000	$22,742
All incomes (average)	$14,600

Sticker tuition and fees: $9,992 in-state, $28,794 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Purdue University-Main Campus's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$13,720
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$13,720
Books and supplies	$1,090
Other expenses, on campus	$2,340
Other expenses, off campus	$2,340

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (9,364 of them) in 2022–23; 60% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	39%	$11,126
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	13%	$5,322
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	35%	$8,075
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	27%	$5,142

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 50%
Average SAT: 1364
Median ACT: 30
Students with Pell grants: 13%
Graduation rate (6yr): 83%
Freshman retention: 93%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $72,424
Median debt at graduation: $19,500
International undergrads: 4,024 (10.1%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Required
Application fee: $60
Students per faculty member: 14 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 96%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 600–720
SAT Math: 600–760
ACT composite: 27–34

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Not considered
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 73,083
Admitted: 36,763
Enrolled: 9,381

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Engineering25%

Business16%

Computer Science13%

Biology & Life Sciences6%

Agriculture5%

Health & Nursing4%

Social Sciences4%

Mathematics & Statistics3%

Psychology3%

Education2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (83)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Computer Science	532	$98,322	$146,685national $107,009	$16,750
Mechanical Engineering	510	$82,015	$102,572national $92,135	$16,124
Research and Experimental Psychology	375	$35,116	$52,170national $55,695	$18,562
Computer Engineering	370	$93,048	$121,462national $109,015	$19,494
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	323	$81,997	$97,332national $98,207	$20,500
Biology, General	276	$35,791	$58,225national $57,214	$18,716
Finance and Financial Management Services	276	$67,193	$85,924national $83,343	$18,432
Industrial Engineering	257	$84,842	$107,031national $98,442	$19,000
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians	252	$71,325	$86,891national $82,073	$19,437
Statistics	216	$79,554	$104,047national $92,425	$18,000
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	211	$87,713	$105,396national $100,647	$23,250
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	181	$78,769	$80,403national $88,910	$16,389
Air Transportation	173	$56,314	$86,161national $85,825	$18,500
Sociology	170	$42,555	$55,072national $52,657	$17,718
Business Administration, Management and Operations	167	$58,348	$81,040national $68,257	$19,500
Accounting and Related Services	166	$69,425	$90,119national $76,194	$19,500
Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians	160	$76,065	$97,594national $82,320	$18,282
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	159	$74,323	$93,976national $86,176	$18,250
Civil Engineering	155	$76,175	$90,873national $86,517	$19,500
Computer Software and Media Applications	149	$49,195	$59,766national $58,894	$19,500
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	148	$76,119	$93,434national $93,451	$18,458
Animal Sciences	146	$43,099	$54,089national $49,634	$19,250
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	144	—	—national $85,063	$19,500
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	139	—	—national $62,172	$16,551
Chemical Engineering	137	$86,660	$104,514national $98,158	$19,500
Political Science and Government	136	$42,339	$71,601national $63,293	$16,250
Economics	135	$62,321	$83,195national $82,686	$17,826
Agricultural Business and Management	133	$61,552	$65,900national $66,647	$12,200
Marketing	127	$60,635	$84,725national $69,303	$15,030
Communication and Media Studies	121	$51,071	$65,517national $56,359	$16,750
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	116	$47,539	$48,502national $47,382	$17,318
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	105	$70,751	$88,474national $80,890	$19,553
Computer and Information Sciences, General	101	$74,383	$99,896national $92,374	$19,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	98	$38,204	$59,050national $58,928	$19,500
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians	93	$79,634	$85,224national $84,599	$20,553
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations	93	$66,112	$82,441national $75,399	$19,043
Chemistry	89	$53,943	$67,680national $65,120	$17,000
Agricultural Engineering	78	$71,807	$86,306national $84,624	$22,153
Hospitality Administration/Management	74	$49,730	$58,861national $56,726	$15,875
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	72	$38,456	$49,649national $48,568	$17,311
Mathematics	64	$50,650	$58,453national $69,562	$13,000
Design and Applied Arts	64	$51,456	$58,917national $51,490	$22,500
Materials Engineering	62	$79,562	$107,557national $91,449	$16,974
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering	59	$73,304	$78,770national $81,171	$18,750
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	59	$51,592	—national $116,539	$16,250
Public Health	58	$44,867	$66,892national $58,808	$18,505
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	57	$45,481	$67,639national $65,466	$18,669
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	55	$48,705	$54,559national $51,389	$18,528
Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management	54	$33,684	$40,053national $47,243	$17,750
English Language and Literature, General	53	$44,165	$52,053national $48,590	$13,000
History	51	$39,354	$53,708national $50,680	$19,500
Physics	45	$44,202	$67,505national $76,786	$17,500
Genetics	43	$39,174	—national $66,076	$16,237
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	43	$54,566	$59,649national $55,753	$22,499
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	41	$51,198	$69,768national $55,012	$19,500
Engineering-Related Fields	41	$78,642	$87,914national $89,619	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	40	$35,359	$49,918national $48,471	$16,604
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	40	—	—national $62,451	$13,000
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	40	$46,930	—national $60,190	$13,979
Engineering, Other	37	$78,647	$87,331national $93,989	$25,000
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	36	—	—national $55,000	$20,727
Construction Engineering	35	$78,801	$101,108national $97,303	$12,000
Nuclear Engineering	31	$77,236	—national $99,297	$25,495
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	31	$41,207	$52,105national $43,765	$18,499
Agricultural Mechanization	28	$63,519	$73,393national $71,278	—
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians	27	$42,584	$45,935national $44,115	$17,495
Anthropology	27	—	$55,624national $46,676	$14,875
Agricultural Production Operations	25	$62,437	$71,868national $53,588	—
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services	24	$47,829	$69,246national $64,926	$18,499
Food Science and Technology	23	$69,120	$75,060national $70,873	$12,000
Fine and Studio Arts	20	$34,754	—national $41,367	$23,849
Plant Sciences	17	$43,856	—national $56,567	—
Landscape Architecture	17	$66,461	$67,113national $66,387	—
Education, General	16	—	—national $49,808	$18,098
Botany/Plant Biology	16	—	$57,530national $49,245	—
Agricultural Public Services	15	$53,543	—national $54,152	—
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	15	$64,814	—national $75,975	—
Forestry	11	$43,795	$56,754national $58,784	—
Special Education and Teaching	11	$49,288	$55,308national $50,499	—
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	11	—	$82,581national $68,245	—
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other	—	—	$63,954national $81,678	—
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	—	$35,949	$72,724national $54,562	—
Human Resources Management and Services	—	$50,535	—national $68,069	—

Associate degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians	67	$48,199	—national $41,460	$16,000

Undergraduate certificates (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	542	$72,737	$89,788national $47,440	$17,813
Computer and Information Sciences, General	168	—	—national $50,984	$19,000
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General	168	—	—national $61,679	$19,024
Education, General	102	$70,044	$67,460national $47,863	$15,375
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	71	—	$105,733national $44,906	$17,164
Political Science and Government	30	—	—national $72,399	$17,375
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	0	$89,843	—national $55,699	$17,817

Master's degrees (24)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	286	$115,535	$137,523national $133,654	$25,000
Mechanical Engineering	218	$102,972	$133,021national $115,974	—
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	193	$110,187	$131,275national $122,434	$18,354
Business Administration, Management and Operations	185	$95,782	$132,747national $103,485	$50,549
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	179	$92,641	—national $124,807	$32,560
Civil Engineering	126	$81,733	$87,908national $98,323	—
Curriculum and Instruction	123	$65,686	—national $63,399	$27,648
Engineering, General	111	$132,800	—national $120,215	$27,766
Education, General	100	$57,493	$69,729national $65,824	$26,214
Public Health	94	$61,104	$67,901national $82,751	$40,196
Engineering, Other	87	—	$140,404national $129,974	—
Communication and Media Studies	78	$76,161	$84,920national $71,953	$30,644
Air Transportation	67	$85,722	$120,421national $110,104	$20,500
Human Resources Management and Services	60	—	—national $83,558	$40,793
Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians	57	$130,140	$110,606national $108,315	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	55	$63,900	$73,079national $67,030	$29,228
Agricultural Business and Management	49	$173,293	$155,217national $90,332	—
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians, Other	49	$112,937	—national $101,422	$41,000
Computer and Information Sciences, General	48	—	$140,205national $124,201	—
Economics	46	$105,102	—national $100,743	$38,792
Agricultural Engineering	32	$118,852	—national $91,410	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	13	$108,415	$113,241national $120,193	—
Hospitality Administration/Management	13	$75,295	—national $74,856	—
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General	12	—	$122,295national $111,169	—

First professional degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	136	$85,267	$135,033national $138,348	$110,188
Veterinary Medicine	74	$114,064	$123,596national $131,316	$124,945

Doctoral degrees (8)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Mechanical Engineering	91	$107,798	—national $131,070	—
Chemistry	68	$96,793	$115,831national $115,386	—
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	27	$120,263	—national $138,660	—
Biology, General	21	—	$109,910national $92,983	—
Education, General	13	$102,582	$118,149national $87,373	—
English Language and Literature, General	12	$63,796	$66,586national $65,831	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	4	$81,580	—national $88,343	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	2	$113,142	—national $138,131	$32,000

Graduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Communication and Media Studies	35	—	$85,278national $85,397	—

Post-baccalaureate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Communication and Media Studies	—	$85,775	—national $75,112	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 261 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed. These figures are calculated for all 12 campuses that share this college's federal student-aid ID, so a branch campus shows its institution's figures.

Contact and accreditation

Address: Hovde Hall of Administration, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2040
Phone: (765) 494-4600
Institutional accreditor: Higher Learning Commission

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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