What is IUPUI? The “About IUPUI” section of the school’s website says “Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), a partnership between Indiana and Purdue universities, is Indiana’s urban research and academic health sciences campus.” The school is a combination of Indiana University and Purdue University degrees all centrally located on one campus in downtown Indianapolis. The school has athletics, on campus housing, and even has Greek life. Though it is a less than typical college experience, the school still draws over 35,000 students each semester.
Nathan Guth, a sophomore at IUPUI, spoke with me about life as a student at what he called “a strange collaboration we call a university.” He told me that the school has recently had more students wanting to live on campus, which is a great thing, but the university wasn’t prepared for such an overflow of on campus students. IUPUI is notorious for being a commuter campus, naturally because it is located directly in the middle of the twelfth largest city in the United States. Nathan also mentioned that the school is working toward creating more campus involvement between students, and that the school is looking forward to the future by building more dorms for students to live in.
Students at IUPUI are given the choice of which school they prefer to graduate from by their senior year. The choice usually depends on which degree you will graduate from; both schools don’t offer the same degrees. IUPUI attracts students from all over the country saying on their website: “Our student, staff, and faculty populations reflect not only the urban environment around us, but also the global community we live in.”
Greek life does exist at IUPUI, providing a glimpse of socialization between students. The Greek organizations do not have actual houses on campus, and as Nathan Guth said: “They don’t do a whole lot.” With the expansion of on campus housing, the social scene of IUPUI looks to be improving.
Despite currently only having two dorm buildings, and most of the students labeled as commuters, IUPUI’s location in Indianapolis speaks for itself. The Circle Center Mall is less than a mile away, Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium are both less than two miles away, and IUPUI’s soccer stadium is now host to the Indy Eleven, a professional soccer team.
Life is different at IUPUI than on other college campuses, there is denying that fact. But the lifestyle of students at IUPUI can be appreciated in a different sense. Location, connections, and residence life separate IUPUI from colleges around the country. The university’s set up may not be for you, but 35,000 students can all attest to the success of the programs found at the school.
