Mechanical Engineering

Purdue University

Department: Mechanical Engineering
Degree: PhD
Location: West Lafayette, IN

Stipend

$28,000/yr Estimated

University-wide minimum, not confirmed for this department · Paid over 12 months · 2025-2026 · From Jul 1 2025; half-time (0.50 FTE) fiscal-year Graduate Staff minimum · Underlying university-wide figure is official

Estimated: our estimate, not a published figure · Source: Purdue Graduate Student Employment Manual (updated Feb 2026), Appendix B · Verified 2026-10-13

Cost of living in West Lafayette, IN

City-median rent is a city-level figure, not a near-campus price; university graduate housing lines are the university's own published rates. Each line is labeled with its own source.

Rent, 1-bedroom (city median) $1,240/mo Estimated City median 1BR. 1BR ($1,240) and 2BR medians ($1,300) are nearly identical; noisy student-season data. Source: Zumper city median asking rent (Sept 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
Rent, 2-bedroom split two ways (city median) $650/mo Estimated City median 2BR, split two ways. 1BR ($1,240) and 2BR medians ($1,300) are nearly identical; noisy student-season data. Source: Zumper city median asking rent (Sept 2026) · Verified 2026-09-27
Utilities Not yet available
Public transit $99/semester Official CityBus semester pass (about $25/mo). Purdue no longer subsidizes it (fall 2025 subsidized price was $49); fare increases planned for 2026. Purdue Campus Transit is free. Source: Purdue Administrative Operations; Purdue Exponent · Verified 2026-09-27
Parking $75 to $250/yr Official Value permit $75, "C" permit $100, Student Garage permit $250 (lottery). 2025-26 options for graduate and professional students who live outside the campus boundary. Purdue announced that annual permit costs are unchanged for 2026-27. The Student Garage permit is allocated by lottery. Source: Purdue Operations: graduate and professional student parking permits (2025-26) · Verified 2026-09-28
Groceries Not yet available

About this department

Summaries are paraphrased from the department's own pages. Individual faculty are not listed here; use the official directory.

Department School of Mechanical Engineering Official Source: engineering.purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09
Degrees offered
- PhD (also at the Indianapolis location)
- Direct PhD (no master's required)
- MS in Mechanical Engineering (MSME, also at Indianapolis and online)
- Hybrid Vehicle Systems Graduate Certificate
Official
Source: engineering.purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09
Overview The school reports 94 faculty and about 1,000 graduate students. Its facilities include Zucrow Labs (propulsion), Herrick Labs (HVAC), the Birck Nanotechnology Center and Maha Labs (fluid power and hydraulics), which the school describes as among the largest academic labs of their kind. Official Source: engineering.purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09
Research areas
- Design and manufacturing
- Dynamics and vibration
- Fluid mechanics
- Heat and mass transfer
- Motorsports
- Solid mechanics
- Systems, measurements and controls
- Thermodynamics (fundamental areas
- the school also lists application areas and computational engineering)
Official
Source: engineering.purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09
Faculty Faculty directory (official) Official Source: engineering.purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09
PhD funding (department statement) The school funds all of its PhD students with fellowships or assistantships. Funding offers are made separately from admission; research students (MS thesis, Direct PhD and PhD) are funded through fellowships, teaching assistantships or research assistantships. Official Source: engineering.purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09
PhD application deadline December 1 (Fall, residential) Official Deadlines vary by department. This date is for School of Mechanical Engineering. Confirm on the official admissions page. Page does not state the cycle year; confirm before publishing. Spring residential deadline September 15; no summer entry. Source: purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09
GRE policy GRE optional Official Source: purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09
Application requirements
- Online application through the Purdue Graduate School
- transcripts
- recommendation letters
- academic statement of purpose
- personal history statement
- resume
- copies of completed diplomas
- English proficiency per Graduate School rules
- master's degree required except for Direct PhD
- minimum recommended GPA 3.2 (recent admits averaged 3.7)
- application fee waivers available
Official
Source: purdue.edu · Verified 2026-10-09

Master's tuition

Published tuition (before any aid). PhD students usually have tuition waived; their offer letter confirms. This is not part of the stipend-versus-cost-of-living comparison.

General Graduate (regular fall/spring flat rate) (in-state) $4,996/semester Estimated 2026-2027. flat rate 8+ credit hours. Includes mandatory fees. Not confirmed for this department: this is the school-wide graduate rate. Source: Purdue Bursar Graduate Tuition and Fees 2026-2027 · Verified 2026-09-30
General Graduate (regular fall/spring flat rate) (out-of-state) $14,397/semester Estimated 2026-2027. flat rate 8+ credit hours. Includes mandatory fees. Not confirmed for this department: this is the school-wide graduate rate. Source: Purdue Bursar Graduate Tuition and Fees 2026-2027 · Verified 2026-09-30