Purdue has established a world reputation as a top engineering school, and most of the individual engineering schools rated among the top five or ten in the United States. Experimental and computational facilities are exceptional. The civil engineering school has consistantly been ranked very highly by rating agencies. In 1991, U.S. News and World Report had the graduate program ranked No. 1 by practicing engineers. Purdue's geotechnical program has awarded approximately 340 Master's and 110 Ph.D. degrees to students from all over the world.
Graduates form a loyal alumni network in both academia and private practice.
P.J. Fox , R. Salgado , and R.J. Deschamps . Historically, the department has continuously maintained a balance between theoretical, experimental, and practical approaches to solving geotechnical problems and this tradition remains true today. The geotechnical program at Purdue is relatively unstructured and provides freedom for students and their graduate committees to develop a plan of study that will meet individual goals. A broad range of courses are available in the areas of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering as well as other areas of civil engineering. Additionally, it is common for students to take courses in geology , mathematics , chemistry , agronomy or other engineering disiplines .