Purdue University College of Engineering


The Purdue University College of Engineering is one of eight major academic divisions, or colleges, of Purdue University. Established in 1874 with programs in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, the college now offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in more than a dozen disciplines. Purdue's engineering program has also educated 24 of America's astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan who were the first and last astronauts to have walked on the Moon, respectively. Many of Purdue's engineering disciplines are recognized as top-ten programs in the U.S. The college as a whole is currently ranked 8th in the U.S. of all doctorate-granting engineering schools by U.S. News & World Report.
'' featured the Purdue University in its August 1892 edition. Here is a look into the Mechanical Laboratory.

Departments

The College of Engineering contains eleven Schools, two Divisions, and several Programs:

Schools

, named after Neil Armstrong, is the flagship of the College of Engineering and home to its administrative offices, the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the School of Materials Engineering, Engineering Projects In Community Service, Engineering Education, the Minority Engineering Program, and the Women in Engineering Program. Many other campus buildings house faculty offices, classrooms, and laboratories for engineering programs, such as the Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering, the Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering, and Potter Engineering Center.

History

The Morrill Act, signed by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, set the stage for the state of Indiana to establish a college for agriculture and the mechanical arts. In 1874, Purdue established four-year bachelor's degree programs in civil engineering and mechanical engineering. The School of Mechanical Engineering was created in 1882, although none of Purdue's students at the time were actually qualified to enroll in any of its courses. In 1911, the School of Chemical Engineering was founded, and in 1938 became the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. The Agricultural Engineering program was established in 1925; it would be renamed the Division of Agricultural and Biological Engineering in 2005. In 1942, the School of Mechanical Engineering was renamed the School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering; the Aeronautical Engineering program would be split out into the School of Aeronautics in 1945 and the School of Aeronautical Engineering in 1953. This was also the year that Purdue established the nation's first Freshmen Engineering program, in which all first-year engineering students take fundamental courses prior to enrolling in the school for their specific discipline. That same year, the Industrial Engineering Department was founded, with some courses taught by Lillian Moller Gilbreth. In 1959, the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering split into two separate units, the latter of which was renamed the School of Materials Engineering in 1973.
The 1960s saw the establishment of the Nuclear Engineering and Women in Engineering programs. A 1 kilowatt nuclear reactor has been in operation at the campus since 1962. In 1971, the National Society of Black Engineers was founded on the Purdue campus by two undergraduates. The Construction Engineering and Management Division was created in 1976. In 1989, the Materials and Electrical Engineering Building was completed, providing much-needed space for the growing School of Materials Engineering and School of Electrical Engineering. In 1995, the Engineering Projects In Community Service program was established at Purdue. Three years later, Purdue's Biomedical Engineering program was founded; in 2004, it was expanded into the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. Also in 2004, the College of Engineering was formed as an umbrella organization for the many Schools, Departments, and Divisions of Purdue's engineering programs. That same year, the Department of Engineering Education, the first of its kind in the nation, was created. Three significant College of Engineering structures would be built over the next few years: the Birck Nanotechnology Center and the Biomedical Engineering Building , both part of Discovery Park; and the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, completed in 2007.

Rankings

The College of Engineering's undergraduate and graduate engineering programs are highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as some of the best engineering programs in America. Many of Purdue's engineering programs are ranked within the top 10 nationally, or near the top 10, resulting in Purdue's College of Engineering coming in 9th for undergraduate programs and 7th for graduate programs in the United States. The 2019 rankings are listed below.
Academic UnitUndergrad.
Rank		Grad.
Rank
College of Engineering 97
Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering45
Agricultural and Biological Engineering11
Biomedical Engineering2428
Chemical Engineering1515
Civil Engineering56
Computer Engineering1012
Electrical Engineering912
Environmental Engineering1118
Industrial Engineering36
Materials Engineering1216
Mechanical Engineering88
Nuclear EngineeringN/A12

Programs

Purdue's College of Engineering offers many programs to its students which help young engineers gain real world and international experience.
These programs include:
The list of clubs and student organizations at Purdue is always growing. There are many other organizations apart from these actively running on campus that help enrich the social, cultural, and educational experiences of Purdue students and help enhance the overall diversity at the University.