The total character of a university - its social, physical and cultural environment and the non-academic opportunities it affords - is very important to graduate students. Purdue University and the local area offer ample cultural and recreational activities. With a combined non-university population of over 100,000, the Lafayette-West Lafayette area has many of the advantages of a typical college town, including a relaxed pace, a safe environment and a moderate cost of living.

The University

The University has a year-round schedule of cultural events filling its galleries, theaters and auditoriums. In addition to its own fine arts exhibits and performances, Purdue offers an extensive music, dance and theater series that brings outstanding national and international talent to campus each year. Season or individual tickets may be purchased for orchestral concerts, plays and Broadway musicals, as well as the best jazz, folk and chamber music. For example, outstanding entertainment which has been offered by Purdue Convocations includes Rent, Cabaret, STOMP, and much more.

Sports are a popular campus pastime for spectators and participants. There are 17 varsity sports programs, and graduate students can purchase tickets to attend scheduled athletic events, which include Big Ten football and basketball.

Recreational opportunities abound at Purdue. The Recreational Sports Center, features the Boilermaker Aquatic Center, offering a state-of-the-art Olympic style swimming facility, the Colby Fitness Center, with over 190 pieces of equipment, and indoor gyms for aerobics, basketball, volleyball, badminton, indoor soccer, racquetball, squash, and many more. Surrounding the gym are 125-acre intramural athletic fields, the scene of many soccer and softball games involving graduate students from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at Purdue University features two 18-hole championship golf courses (Ackerman Hills and Kampen Course) available to students with great rates as low as $12.

The Community

The Lafayette community offers an array of cultural activities. Those interested in musical or dramatic productions will find opportunities available through groups such as the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, the Bach Chorale Singers, and the Lafayette Civic Theatre. Popular annual events include the Around-the-Fountain Art Fair, held beside Lafayette's neoclassical courthouse; the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering, which draws old-time and bluegrass musicians from many states; and the Feast of the Hunter's Moon, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to Fort Quiatenon to recreate the area's French and Indian past on the banks of the Wabash River.

Only 65 miles from Indianapolis and 120 miles from Chicago, the Purdue Campus is within easy driving distance of major metropolitan areas that offer the best in museums, concerts, restaurants and shopping.

A little farther away but still within easy driving distance are many state and local parks (including Lake Michigan beaches), offering opportunities for hiking, sailing, canoeing, swimming and fishing.

Housing

Single and married graduate students have a wide choice of comfortable housing on the Purdue Campus.

For single men and women, the University's two fully air-conditioned graduate houses provide reasonably priced, hotel-type accommodations with single and double rooms. These high-rise structures (The Ernest C. Young and George A. Hawkins graduate houses) are near the center of campus. Carpeted corridors, acoustically designed rooms and modern furnishings help create a private, quiet atmosphere. Cafeteria meal service is available in Hawkins Graduate House and in the Purdue Memorial Union.

The University maintains more than 1,300 apartments for married students. Located on the northwest and southwest edges of campus, efficiencies and one- or two-bedroom apartments, both furnished and unfurnished, are available. Each apartment has a stove and refrigerator, and the reasonably-priced monthly rent includes all utilities except telephone.

Many modern, privately-owned apartment complexes and rentals have been built in recent years, creating plentiful off-campus housing in West Lafayette. Students from the Department live in housing ranging from new apartment complexes in West Lafayette to older rental units in Lafayette. Housing costs are generally moderate but vary depending on the distance from campus, style, and size.