College Highlight

Purdue University

Purdue is Indiana's STEM university—with side helpings of business, health professions, and liberal arts. Compare to Kansas State and Big Ten rival Michigan State. Does better than most large universities in giving students hands-on opportunities such as internships and co-ops. Flight technology and aerospace—and turning out future astronauts—are longtime specialties.
 
Students apply to and enroll in one of Purdue's 10 colleges, and academic requirements vary by school and major. Typically, they include English, math, a lab science, and foreign language proficiency. Management is the most popular major, followed by mechanical engineering, computer science, and industrial engineering. Students flock to the five-year engineering co-op program, one of the most competitive on campus, because it marries classroom study with real-world work. Additionally, Purdue offers a strong undergraduate program in professional flight technology, which includes hands-on training at the university's own airport. Purdue has produced more than 20 astronauts, including pioneers Neil Armstrong and Gus Grissom. Students in the retail management program may spend their junior year at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York and return to Purdue for their senior year. Upon completion of the four-year program, they receive both a Purdue bachelor's and FIT associates' degree. For those seeking to save money on their degree and pursue their post-graduation plans sooner, the College of Liberal Arts offers a dozen three-year degree programs in areas like communication, history, and sociology.

"The academic climate is fairly competitive and intense," says a sophomore. Despite the university's size, 38 percent of classes have fewer then 20 students and many freshman classes are seminar-style, taught by graduate students and academic advisors who help answer students' questions and provide career advice. "I've had some teachers who were phenomenal at connecting with the students and having them understand the concepts," one student confides, "and other teachers act like they are presenting to an empty room." Twenty-three percent of students study abroad, and options are available for students in all majors in more than 60 countries. Undergraduates also participate in more than 2,000 research projects each year.
 
Purdue's "Boilermaker" moniker was coined by a sportswriter in 1891 describing how "the Burly Boiler Makers from Purdue" defeated Wabash College's football team 44-0. Boilermaker pride manifests itself at Division I games of all types, especially when the opposing team is Indiana University, known derisively as "that school down south," in the annual struggle for the Old Oaken Bucket. Every year, the winner adds a link to a chain on the bucket in the shape of either an "I" or "P."

Happy students here have discovered that learning is fun when academics are mixed with real-world experience and a healthy dose of school spirit. "Purdue has great academic programs, incredible organizational and social opportunities, and an awesome sense of community," says one enthusiastic sophomore. "Boiler Up!"