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Prospective freshmen interested in pursuing engineering at Ohio State must indicate their engineering major of interest on their Common Application. Applicants are encouraged to apply by the November 1st early action deadline. Applicants are reviewed holistically by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The College of Engineering does not review applications for admission to the university.

Freshmen (Columbus campus )

Students pass through the Numbers Garden on a sunny day at Ohio State.

All incoming freshmen will:  

  • complete foundational coursework that includes the Fundamental of Engineering course sequence, calculus and, for most majors, physics and/or chemistry. 

  • engage with faculty, academic advisors and peers through hands on coursework and co-curricular activities. 

  • work with their assigned academic advisor to discuss academic goals 

Some engineering majors have available capacity and can direct enroll freshmen into the major without an additional application process. Other engineering majors have a pre-major component and require an additional application process.

Direct-enrolled majors

Freshmen admitted to the Ohio State Columbus campus interested in the following programs will be directly enrolled in their major. No major application is required.

  •  Aviation*

  • Chemical Engineering

  • Civil Engineering

  • Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • Engineering Physics

  • Environmental Engineering

  • Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

  • Industrial & Systems Engineering

  • Materials Science and Engineering

  • Welding Engineering

Admitted freshmen interested in switching into any of the listed majors above have until May 15 to contact University Admissions to have their major updated.

Pre-majors

Students interested in these programs must indicate one of the majors on the Common Application. Students will not have the ability to switch into one of the four pre-majors. Only students in these pre-majors may apply to their respective major. For example, only biomedical pre-majors are permitted to apply to the biomedical engineering major.
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Computer Science and Engineering (ENG) / Computer and Information Science (ASC)
  • Mechanical Engineering

Admitted freshmen interested in switching into any of the listed pre-majors above have until May 15 to contact University Admissions to have their major updated.

*Direct enrollment into the Aviation Engineering major is available. However, the Professional Pilot Certification (PPC) continues to have limited space and students will need to request joining the specialization separately from enrolling in the Aviation Engineering Major. Please see Professional Pilot Specialization for additional information.

The Application to major process for pre-major programs and students who want to switch majors

iGEM team in Paris

Students interested in pursuing one of the pre-major programs or wanting to switch their major will need to submit an application to major. Students will select and apply to three majors of interest (ranked in order of preference), during the semester that eligibility courses are completed, which generally occurs during the second semester of enrollment. The process requires students to verify their coursework and respond to a few short essay prompts (about 250 words each). Students will address their interest in the three selected majors, their experiences working with teams, and their life experiences influencing their desire to pursue engineering.

Once final grades are available at the end of the semester, applications will undergo a program review. Applications will be reviewed in the order of their preferred major choices. For example, if a student's preference is Mechanical, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, their application will be reviewed by Mechanical first, followed by Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering if necessary. Students will learn more about the admit to major process at Orientation.

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Questions/Comments? Contact:  

Find answers to many frequently asked questions. If you need further assistance, please contact the Undergraduate Recruitment Team at: eng-recruitment@osu.edu (preferred) or (614) 247-7697. 

For questions about your admissions application or decision, please email askabuckeye@osu.edu or call (614) 292-3980.  

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