Public · Community college
Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, Indiana · Small city
- 30%
- Transfer rate
- $7,770
- Avg net price
- 50%
- Grad / completion
- $36,596
- Median earnings
Purdue University Global is a public certificate-granting institution in West Lafayette, Indiana (small city setting), enrolling 30,828 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette is a city in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States. Augustus Wylie laid out a town in 1836 in the Wabash River floodplain south of the present Levee. Due to regular flooding of the site, Wylie's town was never built. There is also a branch of the county-run library (Tippecanoe County Public Library) in the Klondike area to the west of the city. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 63 miles to Indianapolis, IN
- To Great Lakes shore
- 83 miles
- Nearest airport
- 3 miles to Purdue University (LAF)
How Purdue University Global compares
Higher than 37% · #35 of 46 in Indiana
Higher than 18%
Higher than 55% · #13 of 42 in Indiana
Cheaper than 79% · #3 cheapest of 51 in Indiana
Lower than 1%
Lower than 12%
Larger than 99%
Percentiles compare Purdue University Global with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Indiana.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate30,82868%
- Graduate14,36432%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women24,56180%
- Men6,26720%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White52%
- Black19%
- Hispanic17%
- Asian3.0%
- Other or multiracial9.6%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 30,828
- Graduate enrollment
- 14,364
- Student–faculty ratio
- 25 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 47%
- First-generation students
- 53%
- Students over 25
- 78%
- Median family income
- $18,320
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $58,626
- Endowment
- $178,031
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 874 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Indiana16%
- Other U.S. states83%
- International1.4%
A national draw — only 16% of first-years come from Indiana; 83% arrive from other states.
1% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $10,101
- Out-of-state tuition
- $14,412
- Room & board
- —
- Total cost of attendance
- $15,660
- Average net price
- $7,770
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 50%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 33%
- First-year retention
- 57%
- Transferred to another college
- 30%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $32,973
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $36,596
- Median debt at graduation
- $26,078
- Students with federal loans
- 46%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 19%
About 17% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- Free
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$9,806/year × about 4.5 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $36,596
- Typical debt at graduation
- $26,078
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 71%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 43%
Typical debt would take roughly 7.1 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $12,123 (36%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 84°F
- Winter low
- 18°F
- Annual rain
- 37″
- Annual snow
- 18.9″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Lafayette Purdue Univ AP, IN US station (3.1 mi from campus).
What Purdue University Global graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Purdue University Global
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Purdue University Global side by side →
Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis, Indiana · Large city · 2 mi to Indianapolis
- Students
- 58,267
- Tuition
- $5k
- Transfer
- 10%
- Earnings
- $37k
College of Southern Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada · Large city · 5 mi to Las Vegas
- Students
- 27,252
- Tuition
- $4k
- Transfer
- 15%
- Earnings
- $38k
Fresno City College
Fresno, California · Large city · 2 mi to Fresno
- Students
- 21,251
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 6%
- Earnings
- $37k
American River College
Sacramento, California · Large suburb · 9 mi to Sacramento
- Students
- 25,621
- Tuition
- $1k
- Transfer
- 11%
- Earnings
- $40k
Long Beach City College
Long Beach, California · Large city · 16 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 22,427
- Tuition
- $2k
- Transfer
- 10%
- Earnings
- $39k
Columbus State Community College
Columbus, Ohio · Large city · 1 mi to Columbus
- Students
- 17,549
- Tuition
- $5k
- Transfer
- 18%
- Earnings
- $39k
Colleges near Purdue University Global
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public · Bachelor's · 44,503 students
Saint Elizabeth School of Nursing
Lafayette, IN · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 145 students
Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Lafayette
Lafayette, IN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 126 students
Ross Medical Education Center-Lafayette
Lafayette, IN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 132 students
Christina and Company Education Center
Lafayette, IN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 44 students
Wabash College
Crawfordsville, IN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 866 students
Danville Area Community College
Danville, IL · Public · Certificate · 1,508 students
Indiana University-Kokomo
Kokomo, IN · Public · Bachelor's · 2,352 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.