Purdue University Northwest

Hammond, IN · Public · 5,671 undergrads (medium, suburb) · website ↗

27% Hispanic undergrads
Test-optional
$25 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	$1,432
$30,000 – $48,000	$2,428
$48,000 – $75,000	$7,026
$75,000 – $110,000	$12,452
Over $110,000	$13,645
All incomes (average)	$6,079

Sticker tuition and fees: $8,675 in-state, $16,094 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 Northwest'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	$9,077
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$9,577
Books and supplies	$608
Other expenses, on campus	$4,212
Other expenses, off campus	$5,023

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,235 of them) in 2022–23; 92% 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	85%	$6,420
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	41%	$5,172
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	68%	$2,344
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	34%	$4,837

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: 72%
Average SAT: 1024
Median ACT: 23
Students with Pell grants: 28%
Graduation rate (6yr): 43%
Freshman retention: 66%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $48,318
Median debt at graduation: $21,229
International undergrads: 205 (2.6%)

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: Test-optional
Application fee: $25
Students per faculty member: 17 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 99%
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: 450–570
SAT Math: 440–570
ACT composite: 16–24

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

First-time applicants: 6,394
Admitted: 4,516
Enrolled: 1,192

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.

Health & Nursing32%

Business19%

Engineering9%

Computer Science6%

Education5%

Psychology4%

Biology & Life Sciences4%

Communications & Media3%

Criminal Justice2%

English & Literature2%

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 (29)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	346	$84,230	$88,935national $88,910	$18,106
Psychology, General	77	$37,761	$42,322national $50,706	$21,400
Communication and Media Studies	52	$30,597	$49,326national $56,359	$21,316
Business Administration, Management and Operations	49	$41,300	$57,191national $68,257	$17,500
Biology, General	45	$41,955	$48,094national $57,214	$18,500
Mechanical Engineering	42	$72,942	$91,229national $92,135	$23,786
Computer Science	41	$67,051	$88,158national $107,009	$20,336
Accounting and Related Services	40	$53,213	$69,186national $76,194	$21,058
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	39	$47,045	$49,224national $47,382	$23,760
Finance and Financial Management Services	38	$61,827	$65,912national $83,343	$17,989
Marketing	36	$43,278	$63,333national $69,303	$19,250
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	30	$27,089	$51,349national $53,072	$26,905
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	29	$81,990	$96,206national $100,647	$22,000
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians	27	$65,963	$85,242national $82,073	$27,000
Computer and Information Sciences, General	26	$54,641	$75,365national $92,374	$20,500
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	25	$38,146	$46,277national $61,296	$17,213
Criminal Justice and Corrections	23	—	—national $55,378	$20,758
English Language and Literature, General	22	$33,477	$34,560national $48,590	$16,588
Civil Engineering	18	$75,216	$84,514national $86,517	$19,664
History	17	$35,043	—national $50,680	—
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician	16	$73,721	—national $93,843	—
Behavioral Sciences	16	—	$37,956national $48,673	—
Human Resources Management and Services	12	$50,929	$67,466national $68,069	—
Engineering-Related Fields	11	—	$82,075national $89,619	—
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians	10	$75,401	$84,288national $84,599	—
Computer Software and Media Applications	8	$25,701	$29,630national $58,894	—
Sociology	8	$37,796	$48,830national $52,657	—
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	7	—	$39,664national $48,568	—
Hospitality Administration/Management	5	$49,943	—national $56,726	—

Master's degrees (3)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	88	$106,158	$119,447national $120,193	$34,408
Business Administration, Management and Operations	26	$68,437	$88,461national $103,485	$31,308
Education, General	14	$54,679	$64,815national $65,824	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 65 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 2200 169th Street, Hammond, IN 46323
Phone: (219) 989-2400
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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