Ohio State University-Main Campus

Columbus, OH · Public · 45,638 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$60 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$4,885
$30,000 – $48,000	$5,751
$48,000 – $75,000	$9,807
$75,000 – $110,000	$20,461
Over $110,000	$27,359
All incomes (average)	$17,339

Sticker tuition and fees: $13,244 in-state, $40,022 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Ohio State University-Main Campus's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$15,178
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$14,578
Books and supplies	$1,020
Other expenses, on campus	$3,458
Other expenses, off campus	$3,690

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (8,027 of them) in 2022–23; 75% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	64%	$11,791
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	17%	$5,267
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	63%	$9,815
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	32%	$5,258

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 61%
Average SAT: 1387
Median ACT: 29
Students with Pell grants: 20%
Graduation rate (6yr): 88%
Freshman retention: 94%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $60,409
Median debt at graduation: $19,976
International undergrads: 3,238 (7.1%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $60
Students per faculty member: 16 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 63%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 640–720
SAT Math: 670–760
ACT composite: 28–32

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Required
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 70,028
Admitted: 35,588
Enrolled: 8,062

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business20%

Engineering15%

Health & Nursing11%

Biology & Life Sciences8%

Social Sciences7%

Psychology5%

Communications & Media5%

Education4%

Agriculture3%

Visual & Performing Arts2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (104)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Finance and Financial Management Services	922	$69,964	$97,986national $83,343	$19,500
Research and Experimental Psychology	722	$37,965	—national $55,695	$18,490
Marketing	546	$57,868	$81,119national $69,303	$19,500
Biology, General	511	$37,729	$64,324national $57,214	$19,500
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	484	$45,321	$73,594national $68,559	$19,829
Communication and Media Studies	449	$46,999	$62,096national $56,359	$17,764
Computer Engineering	416	$91,602	$123,731national $109,015	$19,500
Accounting and Related Services	323	$66,912	$90,850national $76,194	$19,500
Political Science and Government	303	$44,134	$65,972national $63,293	$16,875
Mechanical Engineering	297	$84,487	$96,418national $92,135	$18,950
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	274	$28,643	$68,480national $62,451	$20,500
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	244	$83,961	$99,400national $100,647	$17,470
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	243	$78,970	$81,795national $88,910	$14,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	239	$66,925	$85,586national $68,257	$19,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	209	$42,417	$52,459national $51,389	$19,500
Economics	201	$56,437	$75,485national $82,686	$19,000
Chemical Engineering	187	$84,519	$98,851national $98,158	$19,368
Criminology	175	$44,457	$58,865national $55,556	$19,500
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	168	$41,524	$57,541national $54,562	$17,370
Social Work	154	$40,806	$50,596national $51,790	$19,254
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	150	$43,883	$58,119national $55,012	$18,750
English Language and Literature, General	144	$34,634	$48,301national $48,590	$17,613
Computer and Information Sciences, General	140	$77,750	$118,833national $92,374	$19,076
Animal Sciences	133	$40,145	$50,769national $49,634	$20,183
Mathematics	133	$58,620	$81,909national $69,562	$17,435
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	126	$49,675	$65,407national $116,539	$19,500
International Relations and National Security Studies	123	$45,653	$66,064national $66,596	$14,000
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	121	$38,452	$50,921national $48,568	$18,500
Management Information Systems and Services	121	$81,435	$110,192national $83,290	$17,716
Civil Engineering	119	$70,683	$85,202national $86,517	$20,090
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	119	$44,020	$67,381national $65,466	$21,000
Industrial Engineering	114	$82,850	$106,932national $98,442	$19,250
History	113	$34,761	$49,986national $50,680	$17,637
Educational Administration and Supervision	108	$37,536	$42,187national $47,433	$19,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	106	$26,732	$57,797national $58,928	$19,625
Public Health	106	$43,422	$70,369national $58,808	$16,859
Business/Managerial Economics	106	$64,867	$96,843national $77,981	$20,500
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	98	$67,532	$90,065national $93,451	$19,592
Air Transportation	97	$57,080	$79,114national $85,825	$19,599
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	95	$77,993	$92,999national $98,207	$22,500
Zoology/Animal Biology	89	$34,165	$45,501national $44,055	$19,500
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	87	$31,992	$58,235national $55,000	$16,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	82	$39,954	$45,969national $47,382	$21,642
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	82	$66,539	$68,942national $70,786	$18,500
Fine and Studio Arts	80	$36,869	$46,899national $41,367	$19,000
Real Estate	76	$67,271	$91,213national $84,821	$19,500
Architectural Sciences and Technology	75	—	—national $70,074	$20,750
Anthropology	71	$38,692	$50,055national $46,676	$19,500
Apparel and Textiles	69	$49,266	$66,256national $57,640	$19,500
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy	68	$40,544	$52,528national $56,185	$19,400
Public Administration	66	$47,633	$60,678national $65,093	$16,304
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies	62	$51,925	$67,018national $53,262	$18,628
Genetics	62	$38,666	$63,767national $66,076	$24,233
Sociology	61	$42,458	$50,457national $52,657	$17,513
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	58	$29,365	$50,565national $43,765	$22,128
International Business	54	$67,777	$81,473national $73,201	$20,500
Design and Applied Arts	53	$52,497	$68,151national $51,490	$21,420
Journalism	52	$42,817	$51,280national $56,278	$13,000
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	52	$45,332	$66,222national $62,582	$18,625
Statistics	52	$68,279	—national $92,425	$20,166
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	50	$40,899	$57,859national $54,945	$14,000
Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other	48	$76,074	$88,205national $65,543	$20,500
Physics	48	$50,108	$94,543national $76,786	$20,943
Applied Mathematics	47	$76,163	$120,495national $91,532	$13,104
Human Resources Management and Services	47	$58,040	$82,371national $68,069	$20,500
Chemistry	46	$51,665	$71,559national $65,120	$16,500
Hospitality Administration/Management	46	$46,550	$53,039national $56,726	$24,000
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering	45	$70,366	$80,775national $81,171	$22,300
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	45	$73,207	$111,500national $86,176	$21,300
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	44	$37,522	$46,527national $51,642	$18,068
Agricultural Engineering	43	$62,159	$81,917national $84,624	$21,000
Social Sciences, General	42	—	—national $53,366	$18,709
Dance	40	$23,055	—national $39,980	$26,000
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	37	$63,023	$65,920national $68,061	$20,500
Agricultural Business and Management	35	$52,585	$66,603national $66,647	$13,750
Sustainability Studies	35	$55,767	—national $57,887	$21,000
Plant Sciences	32	$43,908	$56,812national $56,567	$20,250
Astronomy and Astrophysics	31	$32,967	—national $68,333	$19,500
Music	31	—	$51,310national $42,892	$22,500
Materials Engineering	30	$78,333	$86,084national $91,449	$19,500
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	30	$32,556	$44,941national $49,984	$20,000
Public Policy Analysis	30	$50,768	$65,894national $73,721	—
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	29	$41,026	$40,713national $51,710	$25,292
Health and Medical Administrative Services	26	$62,461	$80,315national $58,716	—
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	25	$51,746	$57,573national $66,874	$17,500
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	24	$48,050	$53,381national $60,190	$20,500
Food Science and Technology	21	$51,662	$70,537national $70,873	—
Special Education and Teaching	21	$39,998	$50,194national $50,499	—
Philosophy	21	—	$55,823national $54,455	$20,000
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	21	$30,596	$37,445national $39,775	$27,000
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	19	$63,482	$74,601national $75,975	—
Engineering Physics	18	$77,299	$90,938national $89,154	—
Engineering, Other	18	$83,095	$97,144national $93,989	$19,071
Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other	15	$49,060	$54,860national $55,384	$10,642
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	15	—	$54,529national $53,072	$16,990
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology	15	$43,756	—national $60,997	—
Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	13	—	$68,688national $62,169	—
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	7	—	$59,072national $55,693	—
Geography and Cartography	2	$52,705	$60,363national $57,853	$21,000
Business/Commerce, General	1	$51,410	$65,374national $68,407	$22,145
Architecture	—	$51,218	$66,131national $66,914	—
International/Globalization Studies	0	$72,734	$66,995national $59,972	—
Psychology, General	0	$36,452	$54,182national $50,706	—
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	0	—	$58,821national $55,753	—

Associate degrees (8)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Agricultural Business and Management	—	—	$48,565national $47,825	$9,751
Agricultural Production Operations	—	—	$56,234national $42,438	$12,000
Agricultural and Food Products Processing	—	—	$51,545national $46,855	—
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	—	$43,371	$48,534national $45,283	—
Animal Sciences	—	$38,290	$47,995national $38,658	$12,000
Plant Sciences	—	—	$61,971national $50,971	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	—	—	$44,131national $35,702	—
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	0	$38,136	$47,583national $44,125	$12,976

Undergraduate certificates (5)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	57	$69,535	—national $47,440	$21,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	45	$79,288	—national $80,020	—
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	37	—	—national $52,763	$17,203
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	—	$51,848	—national $55,699	$17,500
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	—	—	—national $45,385	$15,770

Master's degrees (38)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Social Work	338	$55,238	$62,275national $65,123	$41,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	216	$118,526	$139,427national $103,485	$50,915
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	214	$98,942	$109,662national $120,193	$61,500
Education, General	163	$53,701	$57,235national $65,824	$28,500
Public Administration	87	$71,889	$74,606national $81,408	$39,922
Applied Mathematics	84	$81,685	$107,934national $116,060	$20,500
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	79	$97,076	$134,031national $133,654	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	78	$116,832	—national $124,807	$41,000
Public Health	73	$63,729	$90,608national $82,751	$40,858
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	62	$49,665	$59,334national $62,033	$31,020
Health and Medical Administrative Services	59	$84,112	$95,359national $89,981	$38,000
Human Resources Management and Services	50	$79,716	$102,299national $83,558	$35,375
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	47	$62,225	$59,984national $67,030	$38,400
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	44	$79,266	$94,876national $90,984	$40,999
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	43	—	—national $82,527	$31,057
Engineering-Related Fields	38	—	—national $125,651	$20,583
Pharmacology and Toxicology	38	$81,195	$113,921national $92,305	—
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	36	$51,839	—national $62,269	$41,000
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	35	$50,543	$63,595national $74,607	—
Mechanical Engineering	34	$96,676	$126,887national $115,974	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	29	$51,717	$59,711national $63,707	—
Civil Engineering	29	—	$92,821national $98,323	—
Architectural Sciences and Technology	24	—	—national $77,466	$41,000
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities	23	$64,103	—national $100,487	—
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	21	$54,980	$73,208national $79,665	—
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	16	$148,668	$160,491national $129,214	—
Music	15	—	$60,865national $48,285	—
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	14	$92,693	$138,085national $67,681	—
Plant Sciences	13	—	$70,911national $70,814	—
English Language and Literature, General	12	—	$51,416national $55,512	—
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	10	—	$91,866national $59,571	—
Fine and Studio Arts	3	$37,787	$58,535national $49,079	—
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	3	$59,219	$68,045national $81,651	—
Veterinary Medicine	—	$186,819	$263,241national $162,588	—
Architecture	—	$66,182	$82,952national $74,139	—
Dentistry	—	$277,783	$329,225national $327,492	$103,346
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	0	—	$70,191national $71,416	—
Accounting and Related Services	0	—	$104,247national $95,833	—

First professional degrees (6)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Medicine	187	$64,311	$99,404national $112,460	$191,485
Law	179	$83,997	$122,732national $107,773	$75,106
Veterinary Medicine	168	$108,615	$132,986national $131,316	$194,841
Dentistry	121	$133,274	$198,071national $170,812	$250,316
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	118	$95,826	$137,783national $138,348	$130,000
Optometry	68	$100,289	$132,661national $131,525	$175,334

Doctoral degrees (12)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	96	$69,567	$76,684national $82,893	$65,261
Education, General	77	$76,360	$87,043national $87,373	$38,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	48	$137,191	$112,899national $138,131	$63,764
Chemistry	42	$114,377	$123,152national $115,386	—
Biology, General	30	$72,416	$75,461national $92,983	—
Physics	29	$94,730	$132,984national $130,153	—
Research and Experimental Psychology	17	—	$120,917national $103,410	—
English Language and Literature, General	16	$61,308	$66,460national $65,831	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	16	—	—national $88,343	$44,312
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	11	$99,489	$123,814national $112,683	—
Music	11	$54,478	$57,576national $59,592	—
Sociology	7	$84,879	—national $88,618	—

Post-baccalaureate certificates (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	—	$72,431	—national $131,346	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	—	$97,496	—national $146,711	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 239 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed. These figures are calculated for all 6 campuses that share this college's federal student-aid ID, so a branch campus shows its institution's figures.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 15 E. 15th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43201
Phone: (614) 292-6446
Institutional accreditor: Higher Learning Commission

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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