Research brief & institution hub

Purdue University Fort Wayne

INMedium public institution · Overall rank #665 nationally

Data snapshot September 27, 2026Updated October 1, 2026

Azimuth ranks Purdue University Fort Wayne #665 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Purdue University Fort Wayne is a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the degree mix leans toward Business, Education, and Liberal Arts & General Studies. Affordability is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. The model attributes a gain to the factors it measures and a loss to what it cannot explain, and the STEM component adds to that measured share.

Pell students finish at a rate slightly above the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is around the average. The lowest income band averages well below the published cost, and the spread between the lowest and highest bands is modest.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

Purdue University Fort Wayne at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate^[1]: 83.9%
Six-year completion^[2]: 36.3%
Four-year earnings^[3]: $56,455

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income^[6]: $12,444
Median student debt^[4]: $21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt^[7]: $12,362

Purdue University Fort Wayne rankings: how Azimuth assesses value^[5]

Purdue University Fort Wayne is a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana, enrolling 5,484 undergraduates. The composite sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (55th percentile).

The strongest is affordability, and the weakest is return, with access and mobility between them. Purdue University Fort Wayne admits 83.9% of applicants, a rate just below the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 66.6% return for a second year, against a peer median of 73.7%. 36.3% finish within six years, against a peer median of 49.1%.

An estimated 22.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students. The four pillars sit far apart.

Affordability is the standout, at the 82nd percentile, while return is the weakest of the four, at the 39th percentile. Access and mobility sit in the middle, at the 44th and 48th percentiles respectively.

Affordability is the strongest pillar for Purdue University Fort Wayne, at the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The other three pillars sit closer together: mobility at the 48th percentile, access at the 44th percentile, and return the weakest at the 39th percentile.

The spread between the strongest and weakest pillars is wide, with affordability well ahead of the rest of the profile.

24.8% of undergraduates at Purdue University Fort Wayne receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at 38.6%, 2.3 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time entering cohort.

Azimuth ranks the university #817 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #762 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $976 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Purdue University Fort Wayne rankings in context
Geography	Rank
National	#665

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility: National percentile: 48

Access & reach: National percentile: 44

Affordability: National percentile: 82

Return on investment: National percentile: 39

01 / Purdue University Fort Wayne briefing

Purdue University Fort Wayne cost & financial aid^[6]^[7]

Purdue University Fort Wayne lists a published cost of attendance of $22,183. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported published in-state tuition of $9,532 for the 2026-27 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $11,702.

Published out-of-state tuition is $23,574. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $13,171, a savings of $9,012 against the sticker price.

The is $897 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #262 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That places the affordability pillar in the 82nd percentile, the strongest of the university's four pillars.

The published cost of attendance is $22,183. For affordability, Azimuth ranks Purdue University Fort Wayne #262 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, families earning under $30,000 average $8,306, those at $30,001-$48,000 average $8,703, and those at $48,001-$75,000 average $12,444. Those at $75,001-$110,000 average $18,430, and those over $110,000 average $20,224, a distance of $11,918 from bottom to top.

Grants and scholarships lower the price by $9,012 for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $13,171, $897 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), $14,068.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal student loans, $271 above the peer median of $21,229. About 76.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $12,362 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$12,444

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Purdue University Fort Wayne

Most federal aid recipients at Purdue University Fort Wayne borrow: 76.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among those who complete, the median federal student debt is $21,500.

That median sits $271 above the peer median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the median debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $12,362. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported borrowing figures for 267 bachelor's graduates who started as first-time students.

2% of them borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative debt of $19,914 per borrower. 2% of graduates held federal loans, averaging $18,088 per federal borrower.

Affordability is the pillar that stands out at Purdue University Fort Wayne, and the investment picture follows from that. Graduates earn a median of $56,455 four years after completion, a figure that sits in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $976 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That places the gap at the 51st percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $42,762 in a downside case to $80,286 in an upside case, with $56,455 as the typical outcome. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal student loans, $271 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $12,362. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $244.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt: $21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt: $12,362

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly: $244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly: $157/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS

Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Purdue University Fort Wayne briefing

Purdue University Fort Wayne career outcomes & earnings^[3]^[8]^[9]

Affordability, not return, is the strongest pillar for Purdue University Fort Wayne. The return pillar sits in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $56,455, in the 37th percentile nationally. That figure is below the peer median of $57,301 among comparable institutions (same type and size) by $846.

Graduates earn about $976 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a result in the 51st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,768.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,744. The STEM component within the measured factors adds $3,149.

Federally aided graduates of Purdue University Fort Wayne who are working and not enrolled four years after completion earn a median of $56,455. That is $846 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median falls at the 37th percentile. The cohort includes 1,833 completers.

Graduates earn about $976 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That earnings gap is at the 51st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $42,762 on the downside to $80,286 on the upside, with a typical outcome at the same level as the observed median. An estimated 29.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Among federally aided graduates of Purdue University Fort Wayne who are working and not enrolled four years after completion, the median earnings are $56,455, in the 37th percentile nationally. The university sits $846 below the $57,301 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #888 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $976 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. That outcome falls at the 51st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,768. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,744.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,149. The program mix spans business, education, and liberal arts alongside engineering, computer science, and related technology fields.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from a downside of $42,762 to an upside of $80,286. An estimated 29.5% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios point to a wide spread: $42,762 on the downside against $80,286 on the upside. Program choice matters a great deal within that range.

At the upper end, Computer Science graduates earn $101,396 four years after completion, from 39 degrees awarded a year. Mechanical Engineering follows at $85,075, and Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians at $81,259.

The strongest pillar at Purdue University Fort Wayne is affordability, and the numbers bear that out. The average net price for aid recipients—what they pay after grants and scholarships—is $13,171, which sits below the median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $976 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $21,500, which runs above the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $12,362.

A net price below the median for comparable institutions and earnings effectively at the expected level point the same way. The university offers a cost-conscious path, even though the return pillar is not its strongest.

What explains value-added earnings?

Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.: +$5,768
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.: -$6,744
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.: -$976

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Purdue University Fort Wayne briefing

Purdue University Fort Wayne acceptance rate & admissions^[1]^[10]^[11]

Purdue University Fort Wayne admits 83.9% of applicants, a rate that reflects broad access rather than narrow selectivity. The median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size) sits close by, so the university's admissions posture is typical for its peer group.

SAT: reported composite scores

Admission rate: 83.9%

25th percentile: 970
Median: 1080
75th percentile: 1200

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Purdue University Fort Wayne briefing

What are the largest majors at Purdue University Fort Wayne?^[12]

Program choice at Purdue University Fort Wayne shows a wide earnings spread four years after completion, with technical fields reporting far higher medians than education and general studies. Computer Science leads among reported programs at $101,396, followed by Mechanical Engineering at $85,075 and Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians at $81,259.

Business/Commerce, the largest field, awarded 131 degrees and reaches $63,627. Teacher Education awarded 108 degrees at a median of $45,525.

Liberal Arts and General Studies awarded 75 degrees and shows a median of $44,299. That wide gap between the technical medians and the moderate figures in the largest programs is the central pattern in the university's program data.

Purdue University Fort Wayne publishes earnings data for 21 bachelor's programs, and the mix of fields includes both higher- and lower-earning options. The largest family, Business, accounts for 19.7% of degrees awarded, followed by Education at 12.7% and Liberal Arts & General Studies at 8.2%.

The single largest program, Business/Commerce, awarded 131 degrees and shows a median of $63,627 four years after completion. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where completers earn a median of $101,396 four years after finishing, with 39 degrees awarded.

Mechanical Engineering follows at $85,075 with 15 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians rounds out the top earners at $81,259, with 26 degrees awarded.

An estimated 29.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The degree mix at Purdue University Fort Wayne leans toward professional fields. Business accounts for 19.7% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Education next at 12.7% and Liberal Arts & General Studies at 8.2%.

The largest single program is Business/Commerce, at 131 degrees awarded a year, followed by Teacher Education with 108 and Liberal Arts and General Studies with 75. The highest-earning programs are smaller and concentrated in technical fields.

Computer Science graduates report the top median at $101,396, from 39 degrees a year. Mechanical Engineering follows at $85,075, with 15 degrees awarded.

Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians graduates earn a median of $81,259 four years after completion, from 26 degrees a year. Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management is close behind at $73,576, with 13 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of a few high-earning technical programs alongside a larger set of fields where earnings sit below the national median for those fields. 29.0% of degrees are in STEM, and the highest-paid programs are all in engineering and computing.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields

Business/Commerce, General 131 degrees awarded: $63,627
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 108 degrees awarded: $45,525
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 75 degrees awarded: $44,299
Research and Experimental Psychology 61 degrees awarded: $44,533
Biology, General 50 degrees awarded: $50,366
Business Administration, Management and Operations 44 degrees awarded: $60,816

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Purdue University Fort Wayne briefing

How does Purdue University Fort Wayne serve students from different backgrounds?

Pell recipients at Purdue University Fort Wayne complete at a rate of 38.6%, above the overall six-year graduation rate of 36.3% by 2.3 percentage points. Azimuth places the university's mobility pillar in the 48th percentile nationally.

Four years after completion, graduates earn about $976 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a result that sits in the 51st percentile.

Purdue University Fort Wayne is a public university in Fort Wayne, Indiana, enrolling 5,484 undergraduates. The university admits 83.9% of applicants, which is close to the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions—those of the same type and size.

Pell Grant recipients, a measure of financial access, make up 24.8% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 22.7% of students enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 44th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Purdue University Fort Wayne briefing

What colleges are similar to Purdue University Fort Wayne?^[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Admissions peerGrace College and Theological Seminary82.2% admitted

Comparison with Purdue University Fort Wayne
Measure	Purdue University Fort Wayne	Grace College and Theological Seminary
Peer earnings · 4 years	$56,455	$49,126-$7,329 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne
Average annual net price	$13,171	$19,932+$6,761 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne · higher cost
Admission rate	83.9%	82.2%

Higher-admission alternativeBethel University97.7% admitted

Comparison with Purdue University Fort Wayne
Measure	Purdue University Fort Wayne	Bethel University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$56,455	$53,289-$3,166 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne
Average annual net price	$13,171	$18,610+$5,439 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne · higher cost
Admission rate	83.9%	97.7%

Explore Bethel University →

Nearby alternativeIndiana University-EastNearby option · IN

Comparison with Purdue University Fort Wayne
Measure	Purdue University Fort Wayne	Indiana University-East
Peer earnings · 4 years	$56,455	$58,030+$1,575 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne
Average annual net price	$13,171	$8,134-$5,037 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne · lower cost
Admission rate	83.9%	67.2%

Explore Indiana University-East →

Higher-earnings alternativeSan Jose State University$89,614 earnings

Comparison with Purdue University Fort Wayne
Measure	Purdue University Fort Wayne	San Jose State University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$56,455	$89,614+$33,159 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne
Average annual net price	$13,171	$13,760+$589 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne · higher cost
Admission rate	83.9%	84.6%

Explore San Jose State University →

Lower-cost alternativeIndiana University-East$8,134 average net price

Comparison with Purdue University Fort Wayne
Measure	Purdue University Fort Wayne	Indiana University-East
Peer earnings · 4 years	$56,455	$58,030+$1,575 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne
Average annual net price	$13,171	$8,134-$5,037 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne · lower cost
Admission rate	83.9%	67.2%

Explore Indiana University-East →

Similar profileUniversity of Central MissouriMatched across several measures

Comparison with Purdue University Fort Wayne
Measure	Purdue University Fort Wayne	University of Central Missouri
Peer earnings · 4 years	$56,455	$54,054-$2,401 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne
Average annual net price	$13,171	$14,462+$1,291 vs Purdue University Fort Wayne · higher cost
Admission rate	83.9%	63.8%

Explore University of Central Missouri →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated September 27, 2026Governed hub narrative September 30, 2026Governed spoke corpus September 30, 2026

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.
Source fields: ADM_RATE
Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.
Source fields: C150_4
Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.
Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.
Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN
National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.
Source fields: Azimuth rankings
College Azimuth · Ranking methodology
Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.
Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV
Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.
Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations
College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology
Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.
Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios
College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology
Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Source fields: Azimuth statistical model
College Azimuth · Value-added methodology
SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.
Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG
First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.
Source fields: RET_FT4
Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.
Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE
College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation
Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.
Source fields: PCTPELL
Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.
Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF
Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.
Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings