Purdue U., West Lafayette

Rankings

Data year Earned doctorates Full-time graduate students Total R&D expenditures Research space
Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked Rank Percentile Institutions ranked
2024 3 99.6 459 39 95.9 925
2023 3 99.6 459 40 95.8 911 21 96.7 602
2022 6 98.9 457 41 95.6 900
2021 5 99.1 447 41 95.6 908 23 96.3 583
2020 5 99.1 450 41 95.7 916
2019 10 98 447 40 95.8 914 38 93.8 589
2018 9 98.2 428 39 95.9 911
2017 7 98.6 425 37 96 898 41 93.1 575
2016 8 98.4 430 37 96 896
2015 10 97.9 426 37 96 898 40 93.2 570
NOTES:
  • 1. See TableBuilder for the prior year data.
  • 2. Blank white cells indicate data not available, not applicable, or institution not eligible for survey.
  • 3. Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

Data

Number of earned doctorates, by trend major field of study of recipients: 2024–15
Fields 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
All fields 814 809 798 776 794 730 730 741 727 715
  Science and engineering 725 692 682 665 688 627 625 632 608 600
    Agricultural sciences and natural resources 38 38 39 37 41 50 47 51 30 42
      Agricultural sciences 32 33 33 31 37 45 36 46 25 36
      Natural resources and conservation 6 5 6 6 4 5 11 5 5 6
    Biological and biomedical sciences 73 84 65 67 79 72 74 80 82 55
      Biochemistry and biophysics 17 13 10 8 14 12 14 18 16 7
      Biology and biomedical sciences, general 5 3 7 2 5 2 2 4 6 5
      Bioinformatics, biostatistics, and computational biology 5 3 4 . 5 4 4 5 2 2
      Cellular and developmental biology, and anatomy 3 2 4 2 3 4 . 2 5 3
      Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology 4 5 . 8 3 3 2 9 9 5
      Genetics and genomics 1 4 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2
      Microbiology and immunology 5 8 2 4 7 8 9 10 8 6
      Molecular biology 6 5 2 3 1 4 2 2 1 3
      Neurobiology and neurosciences 2 7 5 8 8 7 7 4 8 3
      Pharmacology and toxicology 3 8 8 3 2 4 7 1 7 2
      Physiology, pathology, and cancer biology 6 2 5 9 8 5 2 7 6 6
      Biology and biomedical sciences, other 16 24 17 18 21 18 24 17 13 11
    Computer and information sciences 52 52 45 34 38 37 44 33 32 34
      Computer science 35 34 25 23 30 26 36 26 22 31
      Computer and information sciences, other 17 18 20 11 8 11 8 7 10 3
    Engineering 330 314 327 339 336 276 272 278 270 280
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering 30 38 38 38 45 29 33 29 29 23
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering 24 20 20 25 13 15 22 14 17 22
      Chemical and petroleum engineering 26 25 29 16 24 17 22 19 27 22
      Civil, environmental, and transportation engineering 32 29 43 34 33 34 31 44 26 37
      Electrical and computer engineering 74 54 76 71 91 57 63 63 66 66
      Industrial engineering and operations research 12 14 19 24 23 15 16 11 15 7
      Materials and mining engineering 36 33 29 42 29 26 13 17 11 24
      Mechanical engineering 76 74 55 64 61 57 44 55 42 53
      Engineering, other 20 27 18 25 17 26 28 26 37 26
    Geosciences, atmospheric, and ocean sciences 17 14 5 9 14 11 12 8 11 6
      Geological sciences 7 3 1 2 4 5 5 3 6 2
      Ocean, marine, and atmospheric sciences 10 11 4 7 10 6 7 5 5 4
    Health sciences 24 12 25 19 20 17 19 14 19 15
      Nursing science 2 . 2 . 1 . . . . .
      Pharmaceutical sciences 7 4 10 6 9 8 9 6 7 3
      Public health 1 2 4 3 2 . 3 2 3 2
      Health sciences, other 14 6 9 10 8 9 7 6 9 10
    Mathematics and statistics 41 39 45 34 34 30 27 22 37 40
      Applied mathematics 5 5 8 5 2 3 2 7 8 12
      Mathematics 4 3 3 4 10 7 9 1 13 14
      Statistics 17 14 12 6 6 12 9 6 4 12
      Mathematics and statistics, other 15 17 22 19 16 8 7 8 12 2
    Physical sciences 97 87 74 78 82 77 79 89 82 79
      Astronomy and astrophysics 7 10 5 2 2 4 4 3 2 .
      Chemistry 63 55 51 55 59 50 53 60 51 56
      Physics 27 22 18 21 21 23 22 26 29 23
    Psychology 15 22 16 16 15 22 14 19 17 22
      Clinical psychology 4 3 4 4 3 3 2 . 2 .
      Counseling and applied psychology 5 6 6 3 5 4 3 6 7 5
      Research and experimental psychology 3 4 4 4 2 10 5 8 5 13
      Psychology, other 3 9 2 5 5 5 4 5 3 4
    Social sciences 38 30 41 32 29 35 37 38 28 27
      Anthropology 1 2 2 4 2 . 1 2 3 2
      Economics 8 11 12 6 7 8 10 8 5 8
      Political science and government 5 2 7 2 4 2 8 8 2 2
      Public policy analysis 1 . . . . . . 1 . 1
      Sociology, demography, and population studies 3 2 6 5 3 8 5 4 5 7
      Social sciences, other 20 13 14 15 13 17 13 15 13 7
  Non-science and engineering 89 117 116 111 106 103 105 109 119 115
    Business 14 19 18 20 17 17 17 19 21 14
      Business 14 19 18 20 17 17 17 19 21 14
    Education 39 53 49 47 41 38 37 29 51 50
      Education leadership and administration 5 7 5 2 3 2 7 1 4 3
      Education research 14 15 20 24 20 21 16 8 23 26
      Teacher education and teaching fields 18 26 20 20 17 13 13 18 20 17
      Education, other 2 5 4 1 1 2 1 2 4 4
    Humanities and arts 27 32 36 36 29 39 40 48 32 40
      Letters 11 13 16 20 14 22 16 26 17 21
      Foreign languages and literature 3 4 5 7 5 6 3 6 3 10
      History 5 10 6 3 4 6 11 6 7 4
      Philosophy and religious studies 5 4 8 6 6 3 8 8 4 5
      Music and performing arts . . . . . . . 1 . .
      Humanities and arts, other 3 1 1 . . 2 2 1 1 .
    Other non-science and engineering 9 13 13 8 19 9 11 13 15 11
      Communication 7 5 9 5 14 9 10 8 11 11
      Public administration and social services 1 2 1 . . . . . . .
      Non-science and engineering, other 1 6 3 3 5 . 1 5 4 .

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates

Total R&D expenditures, by field: 2024–15
(Dollars in thousands)
Field 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  All R&D fields   931,513   844,570   754,627   679,482   687,144   663,927   631,574   622,813   606,302   558,611
    Science   455,929   412,000   378,965   338,061   358,123   327,886   305,859   302,495   294,831   304,486
      Computer and information sciences   36,754   31,316   38,868   22,324   27,886   23,177   23,394   21,494   18,896   19,824
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   9,577   9,201   8,127   7,578   10,166   7,119   6,013   6,031   5,335   4,492
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   9,577   9,201   7,893   6,482   8,750   5,965   5,012   5,080   5,316   3,422
        Geological and earth sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   1,052
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   0   0   234   1,096   1,416   1,154   1,001   951   19   18
      Life sciences   312,703   282,174   254,784   237,182   243,953   237,317   211,371   213,713   206,928   209,977
        Agricultural sciences   161,976   147,520   135,315   122,841   123,324   138,419   126,486   127,962   130,723   120,012
        Biological and biomedical sciences   31,401   30,264   27,675   25,488   34,790   25,238   20,819   16,548   15,644   32,675
        Health sciences   118,410   103,811   91,794   88,853   85,839   73,660   64,066   69,168   60,340   44,803
        Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Life sciences nec   916   579   0   0   0   0   0   35   221   12,487
      Mathematics and statistics   2,877   3,115   2,727   2,742   2,671   3,185   6,314   5,922   6,210   6,971
      Physical sciences   65,816   60,623   49,938   42,663   42,370   38,081   37,542   34,740   33,624   30,775
        Astronomy and astrophysics   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Chemistry   42,704   36,491   30,984   26,272   22,953   22,763   22,723   21,437   21,592   17,547
        Materials science   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Physics   23,112   24,132   18,954   16,391   19,417   15,318   14,819   13,303   12,032   13,228
        Physical sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Psychology   5,143   5,839   8,597   8,342   7,176   6,192   6,545   6,289   4,876   3,880
      Social sciences   18,661   17,096   14,770   14,611   21,150   10,040   12,255   12,235   14,457   24,246
        Anthropology   719   915   689   1,002   0   0   705   804   814   0
        Economics   13,992   13,799   12,639   11,468   11,010   0   0   0   0   12,016
        Political science and government   1,071   819   570   468   787   1,138   1,397   886   572   582
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   2,879   1,563   872   1,505   9,345   8,871   9,701   10,129   10,815   9,688
        Social sciences nec   0   0   0   168   8   31   452   416   2,256   1,960
      Sciences nec   4,398   2,636   1,154   2,619   2,751   2,775   2,425   2,071   4,505   4,321
    Engineering   393,296   360,289   312,394   285,469   280,592   270,525   229,967   231,103   223,048   194,401
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   46,965   51,009   29,644   24,570   24,463   23,034   27,760   29,507   30,795   17,302
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   26,675   23,171   21,868   18,756   20,748   25,957   15,654   19,202   12,726   13,425
      Chemical engineering   30,700   28,284   24,850   19,532   19,587   16,970   14,480   13,635   13,568   12,208
      Civil engineering   34,530   35,051   32,784   35,323   28,429   26,193   25,887   24,834   28,022   38,449
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   87,258   65,385   61,840   49,674   50,109   49,874   45,342   47,102   43,858   39,452
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   10,142   9,143   8,859   12,793   15,847   15,674   10,614   6,649   4,553   0
      Mechanical engineering   68,690   63,398   59,435   52,859   49,198   45,887   36,421   33,636   36,479   27,608
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   21,574   17,434   16,790   19,817   19,668   17,348   16,778   17,105   9,739   5,660
      Engineering nec   66,762   67,414   56,324   52,145   52,543   49,588   37,031   39,433   43,308   40,297
    Non-S&E   82,288   72,281   63,268   55,952   48,429   65,516   95,748   89,215   88,423   59,724
      Business management and business administration   16,413   14,802   13,921   10,962   10,976   10,010   13,683   11,722   13,729   14,148
      Communication and communications technologies   2,194   2,298   2,862   1,065   1,607   482   588   930   1,417   778
      Education   10,601   10,916   9,832   8,979   10,039   10,834   12,643   8,111   6,511   6,124
      Humanities   3,016   2,996   2,930   1,874   3,433   3,318   3,380   3,035   3,422   3,752
      Law   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Social work   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Visual and performing arts   613   261   547   39   250   55   188   336   259   1,076
      Non-S&E nec   49,451   41,008   33,176   33,033   22,124   40,817   65,266   65,081   63,085   33,846

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Prior to FY 2016, expenditures for natural resources and conservation, materials science, anthropology, and industrial and manufacturing engineering were not collected separately. R&D expenditures in agricultural sciences decreased in FY 2016 because a number of disciplines previously reported in that field are now reported separately under natural resources and conservation.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Total R&D expenditures, by source of funds and R&D field: 2024
(Dollars in thousands)
Field All R&D expenditures Federal government State and local government Institution funds Business Nonprofit organizations All other sources
  All R&D fields   931,513   451,802   43,893   280,219   72,672   31,385   51,542
    Science   455,929   206,628   19,797   163,167   26,407   18,391   21,539
      Computer and information sciences   36,754   22,375   80   7,576   3,161   2,242   1,320
      Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   9,577   6,691   0   2,310   145   71   360
        Atmospheric science and meteorology   9,577   6,691   0   2,310   145   71   360
        Geological and earth sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Ocean sciences and marine sciences   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Life sciences   312,703   126,945   19,657   125,056   15,167   11,493   14,385
        Agricultural sciences   161,976   61,124   8,477   75,201   6,892   5,392   4,890
        Biological and biomedical sciences   31,401   16,544   210   10,719   980   1,713   1,235
        Health sciences   118,410   49,277   10,970   38,279   7,295   4,388   8,201
        Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Life sciences nec   916   0   0   857   0   0   59
      Mathematics and statistics   2,877   1,413   0   1,109   70   66   219
      Physical sciences   65,816   37,402   0   15,328   6,940   2,522   3,624
        Astronomy and astrophysics   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Chemistry   42,704   22,176   0   10,785   4,295   2,140   3,308
        Materials science   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
        Physics   23,112   15,226   0   4,543   2,645   382   316
        Physical sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Psychology   5,143   3,119   8   1,296   81   7   632
      Social sciences   18,661   7,284   52   7,880   837   1,990   618
        Anthropology   719   251   0   284   0   123   61
        Economics   13,992   5,334   48   6,486   790   1,117   217
        Political science and government   1,071   665   4   213   47   24   118
        Sociology, demography, and population studies   2,879   1,034   0   897   0   726   222
        Social sciences nec   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Sciences nec   4,398   1,399   0   2,612   6   0   381
    Engineering   393,296   221,032   16,948   89,210   40,720   6,149   19,237
      Aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering   46,965   32,952   445   8,600   3,545   29   1,394
      Bioengineering and biomedical engineering   26,675   9,760   75   12,528   1,882   893   1,537
      Chemical engineering   30,700   15,687   94   8,767   3,660   262   2,230
      Civil engineering   34,530   8,345   10,843   10,602   1,933   603   2,204
      Electrical, electronic, and communications engineering   87,258   60,679   967   13,903   8,349   742   2,618
      Industrial and manufacturing engineering   10,142   6,430   38   1,943   713   216   802
      Mechanical engineering   68,690   35,937   1,627   11,073   15,346   979   3,728
      Metallurgical and materials engineering   21,574   13,865   52   4,298   1,784   546   1,029
      Engineering nec   66,762   37,377   2,807   17,496   3,508   1,879   3,695
    Non-S&E   82,288   24,142   7,148   27,842   5,545   6,845   10,766
      Business management and business administration   16,413   845   251   8,444   1,163   250   5,460
      Communication and communications technologies   2,194   104   874   872   0   93   251
      Education   10,601   4,715   1,299   2,969   3   587   1,028
      Humanities   3,016   231   16   1,890   30   14   835
      Law   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Social work   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
      Visual and performing arts   613   120   0   272   12   104   105
      Non-S&E nec   49,451   18,127   4,708   13,395   4,337   5,797   3,087

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Prior to FY 2016, expenditures for natural resources and conservation, materials science, anthropology, and industrial and manufacturing engineering were not collected separately. R&D expenditures in agricultural sciences decreased in FY 2016 because a number of disciplines previously reported in that field are now reported separately under natural resources and conservation.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Federally funded R&D expenditures, by federal agency: 2024–15
(Dollars in thousands)
Source of funds 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
Federal Agencies   451,802   385,738   352,890   295,278   270,605   249,831   251,517   245,110   229,093   217,330
  DOD   123,426   86,728   70,926   52,673   45,016   39,470   43,516   40,474   34,541   29,450
  DOE   38,261   35,887   33,847   29,314   28,811   27,012   24,214   23,917   21,888   20,072
  HHS   95,351   83,845   78,444   73,697   66,259   58,699   57,172   51,439   42,143   37,342
  NASA   14,493   15,323   13,223   12,115   9,935   7,770   7,100   7,180   6,861   7,046
  NSF   90,801   84,597   87,682   70,105   70,426   69,718   68,704   66,017   65,203   72,962
  USDA   44,823   33,628   27,335   24,457   21,983   23,791   24,994   28,095   30,734   27,960
  Other   44,647   45,730   41,433   32,917   28,175   23,371   25,817   27,988   27,723   22,498

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Headcount of R&D personnel: 2024–18 [temporarily discontinued]
Year
2024   .   .   .   .
2023   .   .   .   .
2022   .   .   .   .
2021   .   .   .   .
2020   .   .   .   .
2019   13,143   1,472   11,671   .
2018   11,328   1,437   9,891   .

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education R&D Survey

Science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field: 2023–14
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space 2023 2021 2019 2017 2015
  All research space   2,355   2,204   1,567   1,445   1,445
    Agricultural sciences   786   735   458   439   439
    Biological and biomedical sciences   216   174   145   132   132
    Computer and information sciences   40   38   46   46   46
    Engineering   752   743   513   390   389
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   31   31   18   18   18
    Health sciences   173   167   140   101   101
    Mathematics and statistics   8   9   7   7   7
    Natural resources and conservation   30   33   27   27   27
    Physical sciences   258   214   153   135   135
    Psychology   41   41   21   21   21
    Social sciences   20   20   13   13   13
    Other   0   0   28   117   117

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

New construction of science and engineering research space, by field and time of construction: 2025–16
(Net assignable square feet in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space Planned to start in FY 2024 or FY 2025 Started in FY 2022 or FY 2023 Started in FY 2020 or FY 2021 Started in FY 2018 or FY 2019 Started in FY 2016 or FY 2017
  All research space   36,761   38,164   60,474   51,946   10,121
    Agricultural sciences   15,073   0   16,000   0   7,468
    Biological and biomedical sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Computer and information sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Engineering   0   38,164   40,800   51,946   1,326
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Health sciences   21,688   0   0   0   1,327
    Mathematics and statistics   0   0   0   0   0
    Natural resources and conservation   0   0   3,674   0   0
    Physical sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Psychology   0   0   0   0   0
    Social sciences   0   0   0   0   0
    Other   0   0   0   0   0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

Costs for repair and renovation of science and engineering research space in academic institutions, by field and time of repair and renovation: 2025–16
(Dollars in thousands)
Field, medical school space, and research animal space Planned to start in FY 2024 or FY 2025 Started in FY 2022 or FY 2023 Started in FY 2020 or FY 2021 Started in FY 2018 or FY 2019 Started in FY 2016 or FY 2017
  All research space   77,979   55,758   80,078   37,570   8,379
    Agricultural sciences   6,381   18,087   4,034   1,187   1,021
    Biological and biomedical sciences   51,019   8,974   843   1,164   0
    Computer and information sciences   472   935   52,800   300   0
    Engineering   6,733   17,767   13,255   8,493   5,767
    Geosciences, atmospheric sciences, and ocean sciences   2,318   520   0   2,041   0
    Health sciences   0   2,990   375   12,991   903
    Mathematics and statistics   0   0   344   0   0
    Natural resources and conservation   0   0   0   0   0
    Physical sciences   11,056   4,585   8,427   11,396   689
    Psychology   0   0   0   0   0
    Social sciences   0   1,900   0   0   0
    Other   0   0   0   0   0

NOTE:
  • . = data were not collected at this level or institution was not eligible to participate for this survey year.
  • Data from the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities is collected every two years.

SOURCE: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

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