Ohio State University

In brief

Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College and took its present name in 1878. Its main campus is in Columbus, with regional campuses in Newark, Lima, Marion, Mansfield, and Wooster. By our measure of academic influence, it ranks #37 in the United States and #108 in the world. It admitted 60.6% of applicants for fall 2024; admitted students had a median SAT score of 1395 and a median ACT score of 30.

As governor of Ohio, the future president Rutherford B. Hayes signed the 1870 law that founded it. With more than 68,000 students across its campuses, it is one of the largest universities in the US.

Where Ohio State’s influence is strongest

Ohio State’s influence is broad, led by the earth sciences and psychology. Its strongest broad fields, by US rank in our data, are:

• Earth sciences: #21 in the US (#76 in the world)
• Psychology: #26
• Engineering and literature: #29 each
• Mathematics and criminal justice: #31 each

Within those fields, Ohio State is a national leader in several specialties:

• #1 in the US: glaciology and geodesy
• #2 in the US: neonatal nursing (only Emory ranks higher)
• #4: soil science
• #6: cognitive behavioral therapy

By comparison, Ohio State sits further back in philosophy (#59), economics (#65), and religious studies (#91).

How we measure influence: these ranks come from the citations and recognition earned by a school’s faculty and alumni in each discipline, not from surveys or admissions statistics. See our methodology.

Notable people

Ohio State’s Nobel laureates include the physicist William A. Fowler and the chemist Paul Flory. Its faculty and alumni also include the artist Roy Lichtenstein, the chemist Roy J. Plunkett, the cancer researcher Judah Folkman, the paleoclimatologist Lonnie Thompson, the psychologist Mahzarin Banaji, the political scientists Gene Sharp and Alexander Wendt, the historian Donald Kagan, and the author R.L. Stine. Our full lists of Ohio State’s most influential alumni and faculty appear below.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ohio State hard to get into? Moderately. It admitted 60.6% of applicants for fall 2024; the middle half of admitted students scored 640–720 on the SAT reading section and 670–760 on math.

What does Ohio State cost after financial aid? Tuition is $13,641 for Ohio residents and $42,423 for out-of-state students in 2025–26. The average net price for aided students with family incomes of $48,000–$75,000 was $9,708 in 2024–25; it ranged from about $5,538 for incomes of $30,000–$48,000 to $27,873 for incomes above $110,000.

How do Ohio State graduates do? 86.6% of students who started in 2019 graduated within six years, and 94% of first-year students return for a second year. Ten years after starting college, former students had median earnings of $67,080.

What is Ohio State best known for academically? By our influence data: the earth sciences, psychology, and engineering, plus glaciology and geodesy, where it ranks first in the country.