The Purdue University system is a public university system in the U.S. state of Indiana. A land-grant university with nearly 75,000 students across five institutions comprising six physical campuses, a statewide technology program, extension centers in each of Indiana's 92 counties, and continuing education programs. Additionally, there are another ~44,000 students enrolled in an online university. Each university in the system maintains its own faculty and admissions policies which are overseen by the Purdue University Board of Trustees. Purdue's main campus in West Lafayette is the best-known, noted for its highly regarded programs in engineering and adjacent subjects.
Traditional campuses
The Purdue University system contains one core university, two regional universities, and two collaborative universities in a partnership with the Indiana University system.
Purdue University
The system's main, most well-known, and largest university is located in West Lafayette, Indiana, on the banks of the Wabash River. The main university acts as an anchor for the entire university system, and is where system-wide administrative buildings are located.
Regional universities
The Purdue system independently operates two regional universities, Purdue University Northwest and Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Purdue Northwest
Established in 2016 from the merger of Purdue University Calumet and Purdue University North Central (both established in 1948), Purdue Northwest is composed of the two campuses of the former universities' locations (Hammond, IN and Westville, IN, respectively). Prior to their establishment as official universities, the campuses offered technical courses as part of the national defense training program with the federal government during World War II.
Purdue Fort Wayne
The newest Purdue system university, Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) began operations on July 1, 2018, following the dissolution of Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). The school had been a collaborative venture between Purdue University and Indiana University similar to that of IUPUI, but under the management and budgetary administration of the Purdue University system. IU and Purdue agreed to split IPFW's academic programs following many years of discussion, with all health science programs becoming part of the also then-new Indiana University Fort Wayne. This included IPFW's nursing program, which was formerly under Purdue administration. The rest of the academic programs (with the exception of the philosophy and geoscience departments, which were closed), along with the athletic program (the Fort Wayne Mastodons), fell under the auspices of the new PFW.
Collaborative campuses
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was established in 1969 as a merger of the IU and Purdue Indianapolis extension centers. IUPUI is integrated into the IU system budget but it is semi-autonomous in that it retains some independent control of its own academic curricula. As a core campus of the Indiana University system, IUPUI is primarily governed by the Indiana University Board of Trustees. Purdue University degree-granting programs are governed by the Purdue University Board of Trustees.
On August 12, 2022, the boards of trustees of both Purdue and IU announced that IUPUI will split into two separate universities, with completion of the split to be finished by the fall 2024 semester. The Purdue administered programs, with the exception of most of the school of science, will form the foundation of the new Purdue University in Indianapolis, a fully-integrated extension of Purdue West Lafayette.
Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus
Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus is a regional campus of, and administered by, IUPUI that was established in 1970. After the split of IUPUI in 2024, IUPUC will no longer have Purdue involvement and is expected to be renamed as Indiana University Columbus.