Purdue Trustees Endorse 12th Consecutive Tuition Freeze

The Purdue University Board of Trustees last Friday endorsed President Mung Chiang’s request for a 12th consecutive tuition freeze, meaning students will see no increase in tuition through at least the 2024-25 academic year.

To be formally approved by the trustees in late spring per state statute, after the legislative budget setting, base undergraduate tuition at Purdue will remain at $9,992 per year for Indiana residents and $28,794 for out-of-state students through 2024-25.

The total cost of attending Purdue continues to be less today than in 2012, with tuition held flat and lower room and board rates. The tuition freeze saves students over $150 million per year for a cumulative total of over a billion dollars, compared to if Purdue had instituted annual increases at the Big Ten average, and debt per undergraduate student has declined 36% since 2012. By 2024-25, 10 graduating classes will have never experienced a tuition increase during their time at Purdue.

At the same time, more students than ever are seeking a Purdue degree – more than 71,000 applied for admission for Fall 2023 – and more employers than ever are seeking out Purdue graduates. Last fall, total enrollment reached a record 50,884 students and marked the university’s eighth straight record high. That total includes 37,949 undergrads – also a record.

“Purdue remains committed to the vision of higher education with the highest proven value,” Chiang said. “This proposal of another year of tuition freeze, and the endorsement by the Board of Trustees, continues Purdue’s national leadership in student access and success.”

In addition to the growing number of applicants for enrollment from across the country, evidence of Purdue’s enhanced national profile include being the only university named a “Brand That Matters” by Fast Company magazine in both 2021 and 2022, a No. 4 ranking as the most trusted public university in the country and a top 3 ranking as a university that protects free speech and open inquiry. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Purdue as one of the most innovative schools in the country each of the last five years in addition to ranking numerous academic programs highly.

President Emeritus Mitch Daniels first announced that Purdue would not increase tuition in Spring 2013, shortly after he became the university’s 12th president. Before that, Purdue tuition had increased every year since 1976, and it rose an average of nearly 6% annually from 2002-12.