[4] The university's 14 men's and women's athletic teams competed in Division I of the NCAA Summit League.

At a separate downtown location, Purdue University permanently established the Purdue University Center in 1941 to provide a site in Fort Wayne for students to begin their undergraduate studies prior to transferring to the West Lafayette main campus to complete their degree.

To serve the extension centers' now combined mission in Fort Wayne, the Indiana–Purdue Foundation acquired a 99-year lease on agricultural land owned by Allen County to form a campus totaling 114 acres (0.46 km2) at the then-suburban northeast edge of Fort Wayne on the eastern bank of the St. Joseph River.

Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne opened on September 17, 1964, following nearly two years of construction that began on October 18, 1962.

A portion of the grounds had been transferred to IPFW years earlier for construction of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center.

[1] The Main Academic Campus, bounded by East Coliseum Boulevard (Indiana State Road 930) to the south, Crescent Avenue to the east, St. Joseph River to the west, and Canterbury Green Apartment complex and golf course to the north includes the majority of academic and administrative buildings and parking.

This area of the campus was acquired in 2007 after the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center's closure,[10] with the land donated between IPFW and Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana.

The Plex indoor soccer facility, Hefner Soccer Complex, Holiday Inn hotel and Steel Dynamics Keith E. Busse Alumni Center are located on this portion of the campus, connected to the main academic campus via the pedestrian-only Ron Venderly Family Bridge.

The Holiday Inn operates on property leased from the Indiana–Purdue Foundation and is affiliated with IPFW's Hospitality Management Program.

[11] For three years a grant through the state of Indiana provided bus service between the student housing and the campus but as of 2015 that program was cancelled.

Pedestrian and bicycling traffic are also accommodated through the university's direct connection with the Fort Wayne Rivergreenway, a designated National Recreation Trail.

IPFW operated a satellite facility in Warsaw, Indiana (about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of the main campus) from 2003 to 2013.

IPFW Warsaw Center was closed due to improved distance learning technologies and increasing reliance on e-learning.

The Learning Commons includes librarian research consulting, the Writing Center, IT services computing, and areas for group and individual study.

IPFW students, faculty and staff have 24/7 access to thousands of electronic books, journals and databases, the IU and WorldCat catalogs, and document delivery service.

Phase III of the project, which opened in August 2010, added 448 beds divided between four new residence buildings, bringing total occupancy to more than 1,200 students.

Another student community center, The Clubhouse, a larger version of the existing Cole Commons, and a maintenance facility were also added.

[26] IPFW's Omnibus Lecture Series presented diverse ideas through speakers to the university community and the residents of northeast Indiana.

Featured presenters included Henry Winkler, Marlee Matlin, Cheech Marin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Betty Friedan, James Earl Jones, Jeb Bush, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ralph Nader, Joyce Carol Oates, Deepak Chopra, Gail Sheehy, Hal Holbrook, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Sean Astin.

[27] Tapestry: A Day for You hosts guest speakers and conducts break-out sessions that are mindful of women's empowerment at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

Featured keynote speakers have included Dana Reeve, Linda Ellerbee, Patty Duke, Marie Osmond, and Clinton Kelly.