Purdue University
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Purdue University - Academics - Academics - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.85

Academics

Quick Stats

Student-Faculty Ratio 14:1
Full-Time Student Population 36,422
Part-Time Student Population 4,629
Full-Time Instructional Faculty 2,367
Part-Time Instructional Faculty 353
Total FT Faculty 2,414
Faculty with Terminal Degree 99%
Average Faculty Salary $84,915
Full-Time Retention Rate 88%
Part-Time Retention Rate 60%
Transfer-Out Rate 21%
Graduation Rate 68%
Programs/Majors Offered 90
Average Course Load 15 credits (5 courses)
Academic/Career Counseling? Yes
Remedial Services? No
Class Sizes
  • Fewer than 20 Students: 37%
  • 20 to 49 Students: 48%
  • 50 or More Students: 15%

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Purdue’s Ivy League-sounding title belies its public standing, but aptly describes its challenging curriculum. Purdue’s engineering, management, and agricultural schools attract students from around the nation and the world because of their high academic reputation. It appears that most of the teachers are friendly and willing to help a student in need. However, in a lecture class of 600, some freshmen may feel like a grain of sand in a desert. The biggest complaint of Purdue students is the plethora of foreign teaching assistants whose accents are almost incomprehensible, and teachers who have an overestimated opinion of their personal importance. However, students are quick to note that, overall, the teachers at Purdue are excellent and have a firm knowledge of the subjects they teach. In the heart of right-wing conservative Indiana, there lies Purdue which seems to be a little town of wonders; with people all around the globe gathered in the middle of a corn-field. The feeling of being here is amazing.

As a Big Ten school, Purdue’s curriculum is top-notch. It can be challenging, but it is manageable, depending on your field of study and how you manage your time. The concept of easy and hard majors is very remote at Purdue. Especially with renowned professors from around the world, all majors are equally difficult in their own way. Just remember to keep an open mind, attend classes, and take notes. Your professors may seem unapproachable at first, especially in the lower-level large lecture classes, but remember that their office hours have been made for a reason. Purdue provides its students with dozens of opportunities. Your job is to take advantage of them.

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Purdue Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Academics at Purdue University

harri229

Physics '15

3.5
B

Not Too Bad

Freshman year is bad because everything is new and purdue is extremely demanding in academic areas. Professors are very knowledgable however many have a hard time communicating the topics so students can understand them. The registration process is awful. The website that all purdue students use to sign up for classes is very busy at certain times of the year. Because of this the server tends to shut down because of too many people. This can be a problem because students do not know when the server will be online again and the classes that a student needs could be full by that time. Workload isn't too bad even if you haven't had all AP classes. Again this will depend on what school you are in. The engineers at Purdue are always busy.

May 16, 2012

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Academics at Purdue University

harri229

Physics '15

3.1
B-

Profs Don't Help Much

Im at purdue university and am going into my second year. Thus far I can say that I very much enjoy the campus and opportunities that are here. The first year here is very difficult. Many classes are designed to be harder than they need to be. These are referred to as weed out classes. Only the best of the best come out with better than average grades. The average GPA for the first semester of the freshman class is 2.81. So needless to say there is no grade inflation. Specifically in the physics department many of the professors are not that helpful. Your TA's will be invaluable, take advantage of their knowledge. It would be a good idea to take AP classes to get rid of some of the general education requirements so you can focus on your major. The workload is tough but not impossible.

May 16, 2012

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Academics at Purdue University

RebeccaLegi

Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies '14

3.8
B+

Fun Subjects

I'm enrolled in food and nutrition major in Purdue and I think that the classes here are very fun. They make the classes very interesting that I never hate going to school and enjoy every moment of it. However I feel that Purdue does not provide good internship opportunities for the students here enough. They focus their internships search for Engineering students since it makes up 70% of the students here

Apr 29, 2012

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User rating for Purdue University - Academics is 3.5 out of 5 based on 86 user reviews.

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate your school’s professors on the following topics

Rate your school’s academic environment on the following topics

Facts

Instructional Programs Occupational: No
Academic: Yes
Continuing Professional: Yes
Recreational/Avocational: No
Adult Basic Remedial: No
Secondary (High School): No
Special Credit Opportunities Advanced Placement (AP) Credits: Yes
Dual Credit: Yes
Life Experience Credits: No
AP Test Score Requirements Possible credit for scores of 3 or higher
IB Test Score Requirements Possible credit for scores of 4 or higher
Undergraduate Schools/Divisions
  • School of Agriculture
  • School of Consumer and Family Sciences
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering
  • School of Liberal Arts
  • School of Management
  • School of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences
  • School of Science
  • School of Technology
  • School of Veterinary Medicine
Degrees Awarded
  • Associate degree
  • Bachelor's degree
  • Certificate
  • Doctorate - Professional practice
  • Doctorate - Research/scholarship
  • Master's degree
  • Post-bachelor's certificate
  • Post-master's certificate
Most Popular Majors
  • Business Administration and Management: 5%
  • Electrical and Electronics Engineering: 2%
  • Mechanical Engineering: 2%
  • Operations Management: 2%
Special Study Options
  • Distance learning opportunities
  • Study abroad
  • Teacher certification (below the postsecondary level)
Best Places to Study
  • Campus coffeehouses
  • The Engineering Mall
  • The Liberal Arts fountain
  • The libraries
  • Purdue Memorial Union
Did You Know?
  • If you need a lab science requirement, and you don't want to take chemistry or physics, check out Fundamentals of Horticulture (HORT 101). Besides being worlds easier than anything having to do with pipettes or vectors, you get to play in the dirt, cut up plants, draw flowers, and go on fun field trips, and those are just the lab sessions! The lectures are easy to follow and the professors are nice and well informed.
  • The famous Muppet character, Kermit the Frog, was named after a professor of philosophy at
  • Purdue University. Theodore Kermit Scott grew up
  • in Leland, Mississippi, with Muppet creator Jim Henson, who borrowed Scott's middle name for his most famous creation.
  • Twenty-two astronauts hail Purdue as their alma mater, including Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, respectively the first and last men to set foot on the moon, and Jerry Ross, the man who has been on more space walks than any other astronaut. Purdue alumni have flown more than one-third of all U.S. manned flights into space, which has led to Purdue's epithet of "the Cradle of Astronauts."
  • Purdue has graduated more women engineers than any other university. For that matter, Purdue has probably graduated more engineers, period, than any other university, since one in 50 engineers in the U.S. is Purdue-trained.
  • Purdue civil engineering faculty member Charles Ellis conceived and drew up specifications for the Golden Gate Bridge, which was built in San Francisco, California, in 1937 as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Modern World."
  • In 1962, Purdue became the first university in the nation to establish a department of computer science. Perhaps alongside the epithet "the Cradle of Astronauts," Purdue should also be hailed as "the Cradle of Hackers" or "the Cradle of the Most Socially Reclusive People on the Planet" or "the Cradle of Increasingly Poor Eyesight."
  • Amelia Earhart served as a women's career consultant to Purdue from 1935 to 1937, and the Lockheed Electra aircraft used on her ill-fated world flight was made possible with gift funds from the Purdue Research Foundation. Incidentally, that flight is not listed as one of Purdue's greatest successes.

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College Prowler is seeking talented student authors to assist with writing and updating the College Prowler guides to their schools. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain experience and tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college.

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