In 1874, Purdue University held its first ever class. At the time, Purdue had six instructors and 39 students – hardly enough to fill an auditorium. In the nearly 150 years since, Purdue has grown into a global institution with some 50,000 students as well as hundreds of faculty from all over the world. The scope of Purdue’s educational outreach has also grown massively. By investing in distance learning, Purdue has been able to bring its world-class degree programs to students everywhere.
Purdue recently hit a major milestone in its efforts to make a world-class online education accessible to students around the globe. During the 2021-2022 school year, Purdue celebrated awarding 1,000 graduate degrees and over 200 graduate certificates to online students.
Purdue’s online graduates come from many different colleges, schools and subject areas, but the top colleges and schools awarding online degrees as of 2022 were education, engineering, liberal arts, and management. Education awarded 291 degrees to online students, liberal arts awarded 290 degrees, management awarded 234 degrees, and engineering awarded 229 degrees. Additionally, Purdue’s Polytechnic Institute awarded 155 online degrees.
This major achievement would not have been possible without Purdue University’s continuous investment in distance education opportunities. Purdue has prioritized making its programs accessible to a global audience, including professional students seeking out career skills training. Purdue’s investment in distance learning began decades ago – long before online learning was possible.
A History of Distance Learning at Purdue
Though Purdue University’s online course catalogue has expanded dramatically in the last couple of decades, Purdue has been involved in distance education for over 100 years. Purdue’s first venture into distance education started in 1922, when the university began broadcasting engineering courses over WBAA, at the time an educational radio station operating out of West Lafayette, Indiana, and serving the greater Lafayette area. These broadcasts made Purdue’s exceptional engineering education more accessible to a larger community of people and set a precedent for Purdue’s innovation in the distance education sphere.
Purdue continued to invest in distance education throughout the 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. By the late 1960s, Purdue was offering master’s degrees in engineering throughout Indiana and neighboring states by filming lectures and broadcasting them on closed-circuit television. In the following decades, improvements in digital technology helped Purdue’s distance learning opportunities reach even more people.
The rise of home internet services in the 21st century made designing and delivering distance education possible on a large scale. Purdue and other major universities began investing in fully online educational programs. In the early 2000s, Purdue joined the Indiana College Network – an organization devoted to expanding E-learning opportunities at Indiana colleges – and began offering its first fully online undergraduate degree, an associate of science degree in veterinary technology.
Now, 100 years after Purdue University first ventured into distance education, the Purdue system has a robust and innovative online catalogue. Purdue offers over 200 fully online and hybrid programs at the associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels – as well as many certificate and professional programs. In 2022, Purdue was ranked as the #3 Top Online College in America by Newsweek, and many of Purdue’s online degree programs have achieved their own top rankings.
As Purdue’s online programs continue to grow, the Purdue community has invested in creating a world-class educational experience for the thousands of online students who pass through Purdue’s (virtual) doors every year. Online students have become an integrated part of Purdue’s long legacy of academic excellence, and many have gone on to become innovators in their fields.
The Future of Purdue University Online
Purdue’s online program offerings have grown rapidly in recent years, but, according to Gary Bertoline, senior vice president for Purdue University Online & Learning Innovation, there are many more distance learning opportunities to come.
“We will continue to roll out online programs and courses in high demand fields with the same high quality and taught by the same expert faculty as on our flagship West Lafayette campus,” Bertoline said. “At the same time, we’re dedicated to groundbreaking exploration and creation of innovations in online education, always with the goal of improving learning outcomes.”
Purdue has launched several new online programs recently in response to student and market demands. Some of the programs have a strong interdisciplinary foundation, providing students with transferable skills that can be used in many different industries. Purdue’s new online master’s in Applied Geospatial Analytics is a collaboration between Purdue’s College of Agriculture, College of Liberal Arts, and Polytechnic Institute. The program teaches in-demand skills in data science and geospatial analytics, and it provides an opportunity for students from diverse professional backgrounds to come together in the virtual classroom.
Purdue’s new online Master of Science in Applied Statistics meets market demands by providing professionals with practical statistics training. Classes are taught by the same distinguished professors who teach on campus in Purdue’s Department of Statistics, giving online students access to a world-class statistics education.
Purdue is also expanding its hundreds of certificate offerings. Purdue’s online Master of Health Administration has recently started offering three new online graduate certificates in Healthcare Leadership , Healthcare Operations and Healthcare Quality Improvement. These new offerings give Master of Health Administration students the ability to stack credentials and build specialized expertise in an area of their interest.
In addition to full degree programs, Purdue has also expanded its online professional development course and certificate offerings. Students interested in professional development opportunities can browse hundreds of online course offerings that provide targeted, practical skills training. Purdue’s Agronomy E-Learning Academy hosts three professional development agronomy courses that can be completed individually or taken together to earn a Crop Professional Certificate. Purdue is also providing training in in-demand Agile methodology by offering an Agile Project Management Certification.
“ With the high need by business and industry to upskill and reskill their workforces , and near-full employment leaving many positions unfilled, we see professional development as a major societal need and potentially a major growth area ,” Bertoline said.
These new offerings are just a sample of how Purdue is innovating the online education sphere. Purdue’s online degree programs, certificates, and courses place a world-class education at students’ fingertips, giving them even more opportunities to make their next giant leap.
“From its beginnings, Purdue’s role as a Land Grant institution has been centered on broadening the reach and impact of higher education,” Bertoline said. “Our online programs allow us to do that in our state, across our country and, indeed, around the world.”
Purdue’s Online Students and Faculty: A Legacy of Innovation
Nixon Opondo, Doctor of Technology, 2022 Alumnus
One student who used his Purdue University online degree to make important innovations in the field is Nixon Opondo , a quality and process engineer at Boeing and the 6 th graduate of Purdue’s online Doctor of Technology program. Opondo completed his Doctor of Technology degree online while working full-time as an engineer. Opondo’s research focused on improving quality of life for people with lower-limb prosthesis devices and was inspired by his childhood growing up in Western Kenya, as well as his personal experience as a prosthesis user.
Opondo grew up in a small village in Western Kenya. In his village, disabled people often lacked the resources they needed to live full lives. Seeing the way prosthesis users struggled in his home community inspired Opondo to go back to school and use his engineering expertise to envision solutions for the obstacles prosthesis users face in rural communities.
When Opondo began doing research on prosthesis users, he had no idea that he would end up receiving a prosthetic implant towards the end of his graduate school career. While completing his degree, Opondo learned he had a serious medical condition that would require him to wear a prosthetic device. After the prosthetic device was installed, Opondo gained a new appreciation for the importance of his research. Now, he hopes his experience and expertise will help other prosthesis-users achieve their dreams.
Philippa Ngaju, Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Engineering, 2020 Alumna
Philippa Ngaju is another Purdue University online graduate who has been able to use her degree to make major impacts in her field. Ngaju was working as a research engineer at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute when she decided to go back to school. Her and her team had developed a critical medical device that they hoped would help revolutionize healthcare solutions in Uganda: a low-cost infusion pump capable of delivering life-saving intravenous medicine at a controlled speed.
While researching graduate programs, Ngaju knew she needed a flexible, online option that would allow her to continue doing medical research and developing her infusion pump invention in Uganda. The prestige and research expertise that Purdue’s Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Engineering program offered made it the perfect fit. At Purdue, Ngaju worked with expert faculty in the College of Engineering and learned how to prepare her infusion pump device for clinical trials. Now, she’s taking another giant leap in healthcare innovation by pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Calgary.
Ye Ji Lee, Master of Science in Communication Student
In Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts, online Master of Science in Communication student Ye Ji Lee is using her online education to bolster an international career. Lee, who has a background in international development and public relations, works as a communications officer in Jordan for UN Women, a United Nations unit that focuses on women’s empowerment. Over the course of her communication career, she’s lived in a handful of countries across the globe – collecting stories from different communities and using them for international advocacy.
Lee decided to pursue her master’s in communication from Purdue because she wanted to collaborate with other communication professionals and grow her expertise. Purdue’s program has a wide array of course options on topics relevant to Lee’s professional goals. The flexibility of the program also allows her to continue working in Jordan, where she’s lived for several years.
Lee has a passion for volunteerism and human rights advocacy. Being able to take classes and collaborate with other professionals in the field has helped her generate innovative ideas for how to expand her advocacy work, and she hopes that earning her master’s will open new doors in her international career.
Wanju Huang, Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Education
Purdue’s online student success stories wouldn’t be possible without Purdue’s dedicated online faculty. The faculty who teach Purdue’s online courses work hard to connect with their students across space and time. One College of Education faculty member, Wanju Huang , won an award for her online teaching skills from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA). UPCEA’s Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes educators who have provided outstanding teaching, course development, mentoring of students, and service to professional, continuing, or online education.
Huang has been teaching online courses in instructional design in Purdue’s College of Education since 2017. When structuring her online courses, she focuses heavily on relationship-building, giving students many opportunities to virtually socialize with each other and with her. She also strives to create a sense of community in her online courses. Her engaging lecture videos are often filmed on site at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus. By showing her online students what makes Purdue unique, she helps them feel like a full part of the campus community. Huang’s innovative teaching philosophy and dedication to her students has made her a favorite professor to many. But it’s not just Huang’s students who have benefitted from her teaching – Huang says her online students teach her just as much as she teaches them.