Programs & majors brief
Purdue University-Main Campus Majors & Programs
Which majors earn the most at Purdue?
102 of 102 programs shown
Each bar is a field’s median. Program size counts degrees awarded, not unique people or the earnings sample.
Compare all matching programs
| Program | Degrees awarded | 4-yr earnings | Field rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | 439 | $146,685 | #27 |
| Computer Engineering | 297 | $121,462 | #24 |
| Materials Engineering | 74 | $107,557 | #1 |
| Industrial Engineering | 262 | $107,031 | #7 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 203 | $105,396 | #24 |
| Chemical Engineering | 164 | $104,514 | #23 |
| Statistics | 212 | $104,047 | #10 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 430 | $102,572 | #19 |
| Construction Engineering | 34 | $101,108 | #4 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 259 | $99,896 | #57 |
| Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians | 105 | $97,594 | #1 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | 298 | $97,332 | #16 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 147 | $93,976 | #28 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | 112 | $93,434 | #46 |
| Civil Engineering | 173 | $90,873 | #29 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 99 | $90,119 | #63 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians | 163 | $88,474 | #2 |
| Engineering-Related Fields | 64 | $87,914 | #10 |
| Engineering, Other | 39 | $87,331 | #12 |
| Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians | 307 | $86,891 | #6 |
| Agricultural Engineering | 85 | $86,306 | #7 |
| Air Transportation | 115 | $86,161 | #9 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 221 | $85,924 | #70 |
| Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians | 66 | $85,224 | #8 |
| Marketing | 129 | $84,725 | #38 |
| Economics | 132 | $83,195 | #94 |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other small degree count | 14 | $82,581 | — |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations | 142 | $82,441 | #3 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 155 | $81,040 | #72 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 185 | $80,403 | #236 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering | 58 | $78,770 | #15 |
| Food Science and Technology | 36 | $75,060 | — |
| Agricultural Mechanization | 30 | $73,393 | #3 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 28 | $72,724 | #18 |
| Agricultural Production Operations | 29 | $71,868 | #2 |
| Political Science and Government | 107 | $71,601 | #69 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 35 | $69,768 | #18 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services | 32 | $69,246 | #3 |
| Chemistry | 72 | $67,680 | #58 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 49 | $67,639 | #39 |
| Physics | 53 | $67,505 | #61 |
| Landscape Architecture | 22 | $67,113 | — |
| Public Health | 78 | $66,892 | #34 |
| Agricultural Business and Management | 113 | $65,900 | #22 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 151 | $65,517 | #46 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications | 233 | $59,766 | #6 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services | 37 | $59,649 | #12 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 78 | $59,050 | #67 |
| Design and Applied Arts | 65 | $58,917 | #51 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | 86 | $58,861 | #33 |
| Mathematics | 83 | $58,453 | #162 |
| Biology, General | 242 | $58,225 | #155 |
| Botany/Plant Biology small degree count | 14 | $57,530 | — |
| Forestry small degree count | 13 | $56,754 | — |
| Anthropology | 21 | $55,624 | #28 |
| Special Education and Teaching | 21 | $55,308 | #32 |
| Sociology | 130 | $55,072 | #84 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 63 | $54,559 | #53 |
| Animal Sciences | 146 | $54,089 | #10 |
| History | 42 | $53,708 | #124 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | 285 | $52,170 | #32 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 36 | $52,105 | #17 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 50 | $52,053 | #118 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | 50 | $49,918 | #23 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 83 | $49,649 | #40 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 99 | $48,502 | #119 |
| Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians | 22 | $45,935 | #2 |
| Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management | 53 | $40,053 | #4 |
| Agricultural Public Services small degree count | 19 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Plant Sciences small degree count | 19 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Agriculture, General small degree count | 5 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Area Studies small degree count | 11 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies small degree count | 8 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Education, General small degree count | 12 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Nuclear Engineering | 29 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General small degree count | 6 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 43 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services small degree count | 15 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics small degree count | 8 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General small degree count | 6 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities small degree count | 11 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences | 96 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | 49 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Genetics | 48 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences small degree count | 16 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology small degree count | 15 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Zoology/Animal Biology small degree count | 13 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology small degree count | 10 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Applied Mathematics small degree count | 9 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Biological and Physical Sciences small degree count | 16 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other small degree count | 16 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Nutrition Sciences small degree count | 15 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Mathematics and Computer Science small degree count | 13 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Classical and Ancient Studies small degree count | 7 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Philosophy small degree count | 17 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | 43 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology small degree count | 17 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Fine and Studio Arts small degree count | 15 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft small degree count | 7 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | 49 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions small degree count | 16 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General small degree count | 15 | Too few graduates to report | — |
Program data and definitions · How to evaluate program rankings
What are the largest programs at Purdue?
Counts describe degrees awarded in the reporting period, not current enrollment. Program data and definitions
How do Purdue majors rank nationally?
National program rankings
- Materials Engineering#1
- Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians#1
- Agricultural Production Operations#2
- Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians#2
- Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians#2
- Agricultural Mechanization#3
- Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services#3
- General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations#3
- Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management#4
- Construction Engineering#4
- Computer Software and Media Applications#6
- Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians#6
- Agricultural Engineering#7
- Industrial Engineering#7
- Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians#8
- Air Transportation#9
- Animal Sciences#10
- Engineering-Related Fields#10
- Statistics#10
- Engineering, Other#12
- Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services#12
- Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering#15
- Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering#16
- Film/Video and Photographic Arts#17
- Natural Resources Conservation and Research#18
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness#18
- Mechanical Engineering#19
- Agricultural Business and Management#22
- Chemical Engineering#23
- Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies#23
- Computer Engineering#24
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering#24
- Computer Science#27
- Anthropology#28
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods#28
- Civil Engineering#29
- Special Education and Teaching#32
- Research and Experimental Psychology#32
- Hospitality Administration/Management#33
- Public Health#34
- Marketing#38
- Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology#39
- Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services#40
- Communication and Media Studies#46
- Biomedical/Medical Engineering#46
Programs ranked in the national top 50, supplemented by the largest ranked programs when needed to show ten. Fewer appear when fewer ranks are reported. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.
Further analysis
Outcomes at Purdue University-Main Campus vary sharply by field, and Azimuth's program rankings are built to surface those differences. The rankings evaluate four-year earnings among federally aided completers, median debt, and cohort size rather than reputation.
The university has 63 ranked programs and 68 programs with published earnings data. The degree mix is concentrated in engineering and technology: Engineering accounts for 26.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Business at 11.3% and Computer & Information Sciences at 10.8%.
Computer Science is the largest single program at 439 degrees a year, and Azimuth ranks it #27 nationally with median earnings of $146,685 four years after completion. Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians, a smaller program at 105 degrees, holds the top national rank at #1 and reports median earnings of $97,594.
Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $121,462 four years after completion, from 297 degrees awarded a year.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.