Purdue soars in national and global rankings, setting new standards in visibility and engagement

INDIANA- Purdue University’s enhanced national and global profile continues to play a major role in driving student applications to record levels while accelerating the institution’s research and industry engagement activities.

Purdue has enjoyed six consecutive years as a top 10 Most Innovative university as designated by U.S. News & World Report, and 13 of its undergraduate programs were ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. in its 2024 survey. Overall, Purdue also ranked No. 43 among 435 U.S. universities, up eight spots from 2023 and rising to the highest position in school history.

Additional rankings and designations that are placing the spotlight on Purdue:

  • QS World University rankings listed Purdue at No. 8 among the nation’s public universities and No. 24 overall in the U.S. for its 2025 survey. Purdue also ranked No. 89 among 1,500 global universities, rising 10 spots from 2024.
  • The 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Purdue the No. 33 university in the U.S. and No. 86 worldwide. Purdue ranked No. 14 among U.S. public universities and was No. 9 among public land-grant institutions.
  • Purdue was ranked No. 16 on Fast Company’s list of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2023. And in 2022 and 2023 Purdue was the only university on Fast Company’s Brands That Matter list, designations that recognize organizations for communicating their brand’s mission and ideals with intention and authenticity.
  • Purdue ranked as the Best Value university in Indiana, No. 2 in the Big Ten, sixth among U.S. public universities, and No. 15 among all institutions nationwide in a list released in 2023 by financial services advisor SmartAsset in 2023.

“The impressive performance this past year is a testament to the persistent pursuit of excellence at scale by our faculty, staff, students and alumni, touching every aspect of this dynamic university full of momentum,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said.

During the year, Purdue earned a top ranking among U.S. public universities and was named the No. 9 most recognized university in the world in the 2024-25 Global University Visibility (GUV) rankings, which were released July 16. Supporting those efforts:

  • Earned media recorded 119,345 placements, up 26%. Meanwhile, social media impressions rose 5% to 160 million impressions, engagement topped 6 million, up 36%. Social media shares of Purdue-related activities boomed 68% to 138,000.
  • Purdue’s podcast, “This Is Purdue,” saw listenership jump 76% during the year to 2.2 million, ranking No. 1 for Apple’s Top Charts in Education podcasts.
  • The university’s homepage, purdue.edu, hit 15.8 million visitors, up 8.6% for the year.

During the year, Purdue also signed nine new master research agreements with industry, including one as part of the landmark announcement this spring by South Korea-based SK hynix to invest close to $4 billion to build an advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility for artificial intelligence semiconductor products in the Purdue Research Park.

Additionally, Purdue was chosen to play a primary role in three national hubs — Heartland BioWorks, Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen and Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons — focused on ensuring the U.S. remains globally competitive in areas critical to national security. Purdue also was selected to lead seven national research centers, including the renewal of three existing centers.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.