Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
Graduation rate: 37.5% of first-time, full-time students finish within 150% of the normal time (CollegesRef 2026–27 edition). 57.1% return for a second year. Median earnings: $42,322 a year for former students who received federal aid, ten years after they started college.
Source: U.S. College Scorecard, latest data
Purdue University Global has 66 programs with reported graduate earnings. The highest is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (doctoral), where graduates earn a median $131,220 four years after finishing, against $135,401 for the same field nationally.
Federal data from IPEDS and the U.S. College Scorecard, not student reviews.
Graduation rate
First-time, full-time students finishing within 150% of normal time
First-year retention
Students who return for a second year
Transfer-out rate
First-time, full-time students who transferred to another college
Median earnings
$42,322
Former students who received federal aid
What Purdue University Global graduates earn against what they borrow and what the degree costs after grants.
| Latest official data | This college | Similar colleges |
|---|---|---|
| Median earningsFormer students, 10 years after startingSource: U.S. College Scorecard, latest data | $42,322 | $44,195 |
| Typical federal debtGraduates who borrowed; about $291 a month on a 10-year planSource: U.S. College Scorecard, latest data | $25,625 | $9,567 |
| Years to pay back4 years of average net price ($5,956 a year), paid with 10% of median earningsSource: U.S. College Scorecard, latest data | 5.6 years | 7.2 years |
Similar colleges: the median of 312 public certificate schools nationwide with the same figures reported. Payback is illustrative: it ignores interest, taxes and living costs, and earnings vary by major. Check a loan payment against earnings.
Source: U.S. College Scorecard, field of study, latest data
Median earnings of graduates who received federal aid, one and four years after finishing, and the median federal loan debt they borrowed at Purdue University Global. The field median is the middle value for the same field and credential across every college that reports it. 56 more programs have too few graduates for earnings to be published.
Highest-earning programs
| Program | Graduates | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | Field median | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Protection | 92 | $75,238 | $97,967 | $80,49722% above | $29,489 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 147 | $87,065 | $95,877 | $86,02011% above | $19,646 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | 338 | $78,740 | $87,413 | $80,3229% above | $31,960 |
| Human Resources Management and Services | 76 | $61,588 | $78,683 | $67,02517% above | $37,484 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 356 | $67,807 | $76,857 | $85,00010% below | $37,612 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 1,194 | $66,177 | $66,495 | $64,5903% above | $30,896 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 236 | $67,696 | $66,445 | $54,53022% above | $18,375 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 239 | $56,361 | $62,502 | $73,05414% below | $34,689 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | 659 | $53,052 | $57,546 | $58,5182% below | $22,027 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 385 | $51,686 | $56,660 | $54,4694% above | $31,000 |
| Legal Support Services | 125 | $42,476 | $54,760 | $52,4444% above | $35,789 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General | 539 | $47,924 | $54,526 | $59,8819% below | $24,312 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 18 | $53,250 | N/A | $40,77431% above | $29,133 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 108 | $60,412 | $52,507 | $77,31232% below | $35,500 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | 71 | $54,258 | $51,391 | $48,4846% above | $31,750 |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services | 254 | $44,734 | $47,367 | $55,89315% below | $25,000 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | 303 | $38,952 | $47,339 | $52,56910% below | $37,500 |
| Human Services, General | 66 | N/A | $46,580 | $48,7995% below | $26,903 |
| Social Work | 61 | $40,916 | $42,798 | $51,85917% below | $41,789 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 112 | $38,569 | $42,581 | $46,5419% below | $31,232 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions | 96 | $41,561 | $42,305 | $52,22719% below | $42,198 |
| Program | Graduates | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | Field median | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Protection | 29 | $71,279 | $81,259 | $71,52114% above | $21,278 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 73 | $74,441 | $68,664 | $79,94314% below | $24,697 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 290 | $53,938 | $58,840 | $47,30624% above | $20,572 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | 398 | $45,650 | $58,006 | $57,1202% above | $21,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 341 | $57,740 | N/A | $41,22140% above | $4,065 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General | 217 | $42,367 | $52,571 | $52,0901% above | $4,826 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 78 | $38,555 | $49,016 | $49,1380% above | $23,880 |
| Business/Commerce, General | 250 | $43,999 | $46,828 | $49,1345% below | $26,390 |
| Criminology | 4 | $41,325 | $44,516 | $46,3464% below | $30,500 |
| Legal Support Services | 58 | $42,459 | $41,127 | $45,75110% below | $27,138 |
| Human Services, General | 80 | $38,317 | $35,110 | $42,04817% below | $25,784 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 74 | $23,111 | N/A | $31,69827% below | $21,000 |
| Program | Graduates | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | Field median | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 572 | $108,861 | $121,198 | $120,3381% above | $54,091 |
| Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities | 46 | $93,419 | $100,467 | $101,7261% below | $38,360 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 217 | $87,833 | $84,248 | $126,24033% below | $44,359 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | 96 | $107,381 | $80,691 | $106,83124% below | $37,233 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | 52 | $71,987 | $79,398 | $70,16613% above | $32,084 |
| Fire Protection | 65 | $71,275 | $74,656 | N/A | $38,174 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 134 | $72,982 | $73,597 | $93,22821% below | $41,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 767 | $87,898 | $71,228 | $95,12725% below | $43,874 |
| Legal Support Services | 81 | $53,888 | $70,692 | $80,19112% below | $45,956 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | 320 | $66,110 | $70,227 | $89,92822% below | $37,640 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 51 | $73,682 | $68,905 | $112,76539% below | $40,009 |
| Public Administration | 65 | $74,353 | $64,832 | $77,17516% below | $42,922 |
| Behavioral Sciences | 821 | $54,959 | $63,128 | $74,35515% below | $42,617 |
| Public Health | 134 | $60,378 | $62,315 | $78,99821% below | $40,471 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 43 | $53,801 | $59,014 | $66,26611% below | $38,027 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 77 | $53,278 | $54,022 | $69,94423% below | $35,901 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | 80 | $55,907 | $52,536 | $65,74420% below | $39,032 |
| Human Services, General | 169 | $53,691 | $52,013 | $58,16411% below | $36,587 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 77 | $51,971 | $51,736 | $58,84512% below | $35,412 |
| Program | Graduates | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | Field median | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Not available | $121,701 | $131,220 | $135,4013% below | $68,032 |
| Program | Graduates | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | Field median | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Professions and Studies, Other | 32 | $92,000 | $96,688 | $133,18927% below | $68,793 |
| Law | 39 | $90,599 | $84,403 | $100,93216% below | $81,822 |
| Program | Graduates | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | Field median | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 128 | $87,219 | N/A | $43,76599% above | N/A |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 276 | $46,848 | $49,918 | $58,77215% below | $14,175 |
| Legal Support Services | 17 | $28,160 | $39,788 | $56,85330% below | $8,170 |
| Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services | 121 | $34,235 | $38,055 | $36,7763% above | $20,000 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | 486 | $34,120 | $37,546 | $38,7143% below | $14,750 |
| Human Services, General | 40 | $32,242 | $30,664 | $29,7863% above | $12,635 |
| Program | Graduates | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | Field median | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Support Services | Not available | $48,542 | $46,846 | $56,57517% below | $13,132 |
| Program | Graduates | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | Field median | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 326 | $118,178 | $126,507 | $132,2574% below | $32,367 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 95 | $71,845 | $86,413 | $88,5942% below | N/A |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | 31 | $76,670 | N/A | $62,15223% above | $15,362 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | 110 | $61,432 | N/A | $63,2913% below | $28,518 |
Careers linked to the programs Purdue University Global reports, highest national median pay first. Pay and outlook are BLS figures for the whole occupation, not for this college's graduates.
Healthcare practitioners
Master's degree
Via Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Transportation
Bachelor's degree
Via Air Transportation
Management
Bachelor's degree
Via Public Administration, Business/Commerce, General and 4 more
Management
Bachelor's degree
Via Public Administration, Business/Commerce, General and 4 more
Science
Master's degree
Via Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology
Management
Bachelor's degree
Via Computer and Information Sciences, General, Information Science/Studies and 4 more
Every field of study, with the colleges that offer it and what graduates earn.
Programs A–ZVerified facts
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