Purdue University system

The Purdue University system is a public university system in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is a land-grant university with almost 75,000 students studying at three different schools. These schools have five physical campuses, a technology program that reaches all parts of Indiana, learning centers in each of Indiana's 92 counties, and many programs for adult learners. There are also about 44,000 students taking classes online.

Each school in the system has its own teachers and rules for accepting students. These rules are watched over by the Purdue University Board of Trustees. The most famous part of the system is the main campus in West Lafayette. This campus is well known for its strong programs in engineering and related subjects.

Traditional campuses

The Purdue University system has one main university with two locations and two regional universities, one of which also has two locations. It used to include three joint universities working with the Indiana University system.

Purdue University

Main article: Purdue University

The main and largest university is in West Lafayette, Indiana, near the Wabash River. This university is important for the whole system and houses the main administrative offices.

Purdue University in Indianapolis

Main article: Purdue University in Indianapolis

Purdue University in Indianapolis started on July 1, 2024, after separating from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. It is located in downtown Indianapolis and works with local companies for facilities and shared spaces in the metro area.

Regional universities

The Purdue system runs two regional universities, Purdue University Northwest and Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Purdue Northwest

Main article: Purdue University Northwest

Purdue Northwest was created in 2016 from merging Purdue University Calumet and Purdue University North Central. It has campuses in Hammond, IN and Westville, IN.

Purdue Fort Wayne

Main article: Purdue University Fort Wayne

Purdue Fort Wayne started on July 1, 2018, after separating from Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne. It now handles many academic programs that were previously shared between Purdue and Indiana University.

Online programs

Purdue Global

Main article: Purdue University Global

Purdue University Global, also called PG, used to be known as Kaplan University. It is a public university that mainly offers classes online. It is part of the Purdue system and run as a public benefit corporation. PG gives out certificates and degrees, including associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. The school has its own teachers, rules for joining, and lessons, but is watched over by the Purdue University Board of Trustees. PG also has a law school called Purdue Global Law School.

Purdue Online

Purdue Online is the part that helps plan and organize online classes for students at Purdue West Lafayette, Purdue Fort Wayne, Purdue Northwest, and Purdue Global. This idea was approved in December 2018 by Purdue President Mitch Daniels and the Purdue Board of Trustees. Degrees from Purdue Online are given as Purdue University degrees.

Purdue statewide

The Purdue Polytechnic Institute, one of Purdue University’s academic colleges, has nine smaller locations across Indiana. These are in Anderson, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Lafayette, New Albany, Richmond, Vincennes, and South Bend. Each location offers certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor’s degrees, depending on what the local area needs.

Purdue also works with the state of Indiana to run a cooperative extension office in all 92 counties. These offices help farmers, garden lovers, and community members with useful information and advice. They also support youth programs, family services, and community growth.

History

Founding of the main campus

The state of Indiana received a large gift of money from John Purdue, a business leader and giver in Lafayette, along with money from Tippecanoe County and land from local people to help start a college. In 1869, it was decided to build the college near the city of Lafayette and name it Purdue University after its main supporter, John Purdue.

Classes at the main Purdue campus began on September 16, 1874. The first degree awarded by Purdue was a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1875. The buildings on the main campus in West Lafayette are mostly made of red brick.

Extension centers become degree-granting regional campuses

After many veterans returned home after World War II, Purdue University opened many extension centers across Indiana. These centers offered first-year classes so students could start their studies close to home before moving to the main campus in West Lafayette. They also helped reduce the number of new students at the main campus during a time when resources were limited.

Five of these extension centers grew over time into full colleges that could award four-year degrees. Three of these—Purdue Fort Wayne, IUPUI, and Purdue Calumet (now part of Purdue Northwest)—became medium-sized universities offering many different fields of study. IUPUI, with nearly 30,000 students, became a large university offering advanced degrees, though most programs and students there were from Indiana University rather than Purdue University.

Purdue University Fort Wayne

Main article: Purdue University Fort Wayne

See also: Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne

Purdue University started the Purdue Fort Wayne Extension Center in 1941 to help students in Fort Wayne begin their studies before moving to the main campus in West Lafayette.

In 1958, Indiana University and Purdue University decided to work together in Fort Wayne. In 1964, a new campus called Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) opened after two years of building. At the time it closed in 2018, IPFW was a large campus with many buildings, student housing, and sports facilities. IPFW gave its first four-year degree in 1968. The campus was run by Purdue University, but medical programs and the library were managed by Indiana University. Degrees from IPFW were given by either Purdue or Indiana University depending on the program. IPFW offered over 170 different degrees and programs. The buildings at IPFW were usually brown or tan brick, similar to Purdue’s main campus.

In 2017, the leaders of Indiana University and Purdue University decided to split IPFW into two separate schools. In 2018, the health sciences programs became part of Indiana University Fort Wayne, while all other programs joined Purdue University as Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW). PFW still helps with classes for students at Indiana University Fort Wayne. The sports teams at IPFW became Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.

Purdue University Northwest

Main article: Purdue University Northwest

Purdue University Northwest was created in 2016 by joining two older Purdue campuses—Purdue University Calumet in Hammond and Purdue University North Central in Westville. Both of these schools opened in 1946.

Calumet started by holding classes in different places in the area but moved to a new 50-acre campus in Hammond in 1951. The campus grew to 194 acres. In 1962, Purdue made Calumet a full regional campus, and in 1979, it became a regional university. After many years of only giving two-year degrees, Calumet gave its first bachelor’s degrees in 1967. In 2005, Calumet became a place where students could live on campus when its first dorms opened.

North Central also began by holding classes in LaPorte and Michigan City but moved to a new 160-acre site in 1962. The new campus opened in 1967 and grew to 305 acres.

Former collaborative campuses

IUPUI

Main article: Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis

Purdue University started the Purdue Indianapolis Extension Center in 1946 to help students in Indianapolis begin their studies before moving to the main campus in West Lafayette.

In 1969, this extension center joined the Indiana University Indianapolis campus to create IUPUI. IUPUI gave its first four-year undergraduate degree in 1970. IUPUI was run by Indiana University. IUPUI’s Purdue University programs were in two schools connected to Purdue University. Degrees from IUPUI were given by either Purdue or Indiana University depending on the program. IUPUI had over 550 different degrees and programs. The campus was 285 acres west of downtown Indianapolis. In 1947, the Purdue University programs at the Purdue Indianapolis Extension Center gave their first two-year degrees.

In July 2024, IUPUI split into separate parts of Indiana University and Purdue University. Purdue’s new campus in Indianapolis is now an expansion of the West Lafayette campus rather than a regional campus.

IUPUC

Main article: Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus

Purdue University opened an extension center in Columbus in 1942. IUPUI Columbus started in 1970 as part of IUPUI. The building for IUPUC was first used in 1974. The name changed to IUPUC in 1994. IUPUC was run by IUPUI. Degrees from IUPUC were given by either Purdue or Indiana University depending on the program. IUPUC offered only one master’s degree, 15 bachelor’s degrees, and 6 associate degrees, so it was still growing from a place where students would move to bigger campuses to a full university.

In 2022, the leaders of Purdue and IU announced that IUPUI would split into two separate universities, with the split happening on July 1, 2024. After the split, IUPUC became IU Columbus and is run by IU Indianapolis. Only the mechanical engineering program, which was accredited through Purdue, is now run by the new Purdue University in Indianapolis.

IPFW

Main article: Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne

IPFW was a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was founded in 1964 and was a joint campus of Indiana University and Purdue University. IPFW offered over 200 degree programs through either IU or Purdue.

On July 1, 2018, Indiana University and Purdue University separated in Fort Wayne. The health sciences programs became Indiana University Fort Wayne, and the other programs became Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW).

Athletics

Main articles: Purdue Boilermakers, Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, and Purdue Northwest Pride

Two campuses of the Purdue University system have teams that compete in sports. The Purdue Boilermakers, from the West Lafayette campus, have 18 teams, including the only football team. They compete in the Big Ten Conference. The Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons have 14 teams and compete mostly in the Horizon League. The Purdue Northwest Pride has 15 teams and competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Administration

Purdue University is led by a group of ten trustees chosen by the governor of Indiana. Three of these trustees are Purdue graduates selected by alumni, and one must be a current student studying full-time.

The president of Purdue is the main leader of the university. Most campuses have a chancellor, but at West Lafayette and the new campus in Indianapolis, the president handles these duties instead.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Purdue University alumni

Many well-known people have studied at Purdue University. The school has produced leaders in many fields, including business, science, and entertainment. Some of these graduates have gone on to achieve great success and recognition for their work.

Notable faculty

Main article: List of Purdue University faculty

Purdue University has many teachers and experts who have done important work in different areas. Some of them have even won big prizes for their discoveries and studies. These teachers help students learn and make new discoveries at the university.