Purdue University is a large, public research institution known for its strong engineering programs. Students indicate a choice of major in their admissions application, but have the option to select Exploratory Studies if they are undecided. Students in Exploratory studies have access to classes, programs, and advisors that help them to identify their personal goals and select a choice of major, which they must do after four semesters on campus. Instead of specifying particular courses as a core curriculum, Purdue specifies foundational outcomes that students can meet via a variety of courses. Purdue’s foundational outcomes touch upon written and oral communication, information literacy, science, math, and human culture. All students must satisfy foundational outcomes regardless of their major. Each degree plan specifies additional required outcomes for students in the major.
In 2017, Purdue announced its plans to acquire Kaplan University. When the acquisition is complete, Purdue University Global, a mostly online entity, will be part of the Purdue University system.
Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
Number of 1st years: 7567
Undergraduates: 31,000
Graduates: 9,626
Faculty: 1,900
For more demographic data, see here.
The following are noteworthy programs that differ from MIT practices. Unless otherwise stated, assumptions should not be made about the effectiveness of these programs.
Because students indicate a choice of major on their admissions application, first-year advising is provided within the individual schools and departments with guidance from the Office of the Director of Undergraduate Advising. The treatment of advising in a few programs is described below.
The Computer Science Bridge Program is a faculty-led, two-week, residential summer program designed for students with little or no programming experience.
Engineering Academic Boot Camp is a five-week, residential summer program for underrepresented minorities designed to help ease the transition to the first semester of first-year engineering. Students take non-credit courses in math, chemistry, physics, and programming. Students also design and build a go-kart, participate in professional development activities, and network with alums.
The Global Engineering learning community is open to first-year engineering students. The learning community intentionally selects a mix of domestic and international students to create a cross-cultural experience for its members. The academic component of the learning community explores how cultural sensitivity relates to engineering design and sustainability.
The Women in Engineering living and learning community is open to first-year engineering students. All students are welcome regardless of gender identity. The program emphasizes the success of women in all fields of engineering and includes academic, career, and social networking.
The Center for Instructional Excellence’s Global Learning Faculty Development Program helps to prepare Purdue faculty, instructors, and staff to teach intercultural skills and knowledge. They do this through sample assignments and other web resources (including a Intercultural Competency MOOC).
First-Year Engineering offers a one-credit seminar course, ENGR 10400, to help students put together a resume, learn about internship and co-op opportunities, and practice presenting themselves to recruiters and employers. ENGR 10400 also covers study habits and provides avenues for exploring the various engineering disciplines.
There are a number of Learning Communities for first-year students at Purdue. The focus areas for the learning communities span the range from entrepreneurship, gender inclusion, leadership, biology, computer science, agricultural technology, psychology and more. Some learning communities require that students must be affiliated with a given school on campus in order to participate. Learning community members frequently take one or more courses together, have outside of class activities and experiences together, and have opportunities to interact with faculty. Some learning communities have residential components, others do not. Approximately 2,000 first-year students participate in learning communities each year.
Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) is a service-learning experience open to first-year students in engineering. Student teams, guided by faculty and industry advisors, work with community organizations to identify, design, build, test, and deploy technological solutions to address a challenge the organization is facing. Hundreds of students participate in EPICS each year. Based on its success, the EPICS program has spread to other campuses.
Undergraduate research is supported through a central Office for Undergraduate Research. First-year students are welcome to participate in undergraduate research. The office hosts a seminar series for current and prospective undergraduate researchers on topics ranging from finding a research mentor to writing a paper or preparing a poster. The office organizes an annual campus-wide undergrad research conference to provide students with the opportunity to communicate their work and receive feedback.
The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research is another opportunity that Purdue undergraduates have for honing their communication skills around their research. The journal is run by students in collaboration with Purdue University Press and Purdue University Libraries.
The following programs are structured and implemented in a manner similar to MIT.
There are a few first-year seminars listed in the course catalog, but they are not a common first-year experience. Most first-year seminars are tied to learning communities or the Honors College.
Summer Transition, Advising and Registration (STAR) is a required day-long summer registration program for new undergraduate students. Students learn about the available majors and degree requirements, complete placement testing, learn about campus life, meet with an academic advisor, and register for fall classes. An online version of STAR is available to international students.
Boiler Gold Rush is an extended orientation that takes place the week before classes start. Unlike STAR, Boiler Gold Rush is optional. Students pay a registration fee to attend Boiler Gold Rush. The fee for the fall 2018 program is $320.
Each college has its own writing requirements. There is not a campus-wide writing requirement for first-year students.