Admission to Major

Future Engineers

New freshmen and transfer students should visit Engineering for Everyone for information regarding admission to major for future engineering students.

Current Engineers

Students that have started classes at Ohio State and are enrolled in an engineering/computer science major or pre-major can seek admission to an engineering major. Students not enrolled in an engineering/computer science major or pre-major should review Enroll in an Engineering Program.

Due to available capacity, many programs can accept students into the major without applying while others require students to apply through the admission application process. Below shows the current method to seek admission into each major. Please note these statuses may change as enrollment in majors change.

Regional Campus Engineers

Students wanting to major in a "space available" major will be switched into the major when they campus change to Columbus. Students wanting to major in a program indicated as "limited space" should submit an application to major as soon as they are eligible to apply.

Space Available Programs

These majors are accepting engineering students on the Columbus campus in good standing (2.0 GPA or above) into the major without the need to submit an admission application. To switch into a space available major, please visit the advisor in that major.

Students submitting an application to a limited space major are encouraged to select one of these programs as their choice 2 or 3 option on the application to major.

*Direct enrollment into the Aviation major is available, but is separate from enrollment in the Professional Pilot Certification (PPC) due to limited space. See Professional Pilot Specialization for additional information.

Limited Space Programs

These majors accept students into the major through the admission to major application process. Students will need to submit an application to major to seek admission to the following programs. 

  • Chemical Engineering

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering Physics

Only Available to Students in the Pre-Major

In order to implement a transparent and equitable admission process and recognizing the challenges in meeting the demand and space availability in popular majors, only students in these pre-majors may apply to their respective major. For example, only biomedical pre-major are permitted to apply to the biomedical engineering major.

  • Aerospace Engineering - AERO and MECH pre-majors may apply

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Computer Science - CSE and CIS pre-majors may apply
  • Mechanical Engineering - MECH and AERO pre-majors may apply

Prospective Ohio State students (freshmen, transfers, and regional campus) interested in one of these majors will need to apply to the major during the undergraduate admissions process.

The Application Process

Students can select and apply to as many as 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.

  • Students enrolled in a pre-major program are required to apply to three major choices.
  • Students enrolled in a major program and are wishing to change majors may select one, two, or three majors choices.
  • Students selecting the CIS option in Computer Science as their first choice are not required to select a choice 2 or 3 engineering major but are welcome to do so.

Students selecting Computer Science (CSE and CIS BS options), Electrical and Computer EngineeringFood, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, and Industrial and Systems Engineering will be asked to select the specialization/program of study in the major they plan to pursue. Please use the links on each major to explore each program's options. This selection is not permanent, students are able to change their choices in the future.

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 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 the their preferred major choices. For example, if a student's preference is Civil, Chemical, Environmental, their application will be review by Civil first, followed by Chemical and Environmental if not admitted by the proceeding major.

All students will be notified of their admission decision on the admission decision date listed below. Admitted students will be offered a place in one major. This offer must be accepted by the indicated deadline to secure a place. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of the admission offer.

Dates, Deadlines, and Application to Major System Login

Autumn 2023 Application for Spring 2024 Admission

Admission cycle has completed.

Spring 2024 Application for Autumn 2024 Admission

Applications Open: January 22, 2024
Application Submission Deadline: February 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Application Cancellation Deadline: March 22, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Admission Decision Date: Saturday May 18, 2024
Deadline to Accept Admission Offer: Sunday May 26, 2024

Transfer Credit Completed Prior to Spring 2024
Credit & Evaluation Posting Deadline: Friday, February 23, 2024

Enrollment at Another Institution During Spring 2024
Transcripts Received Deadline: Thursday, May 16, 2024 - Review Sending Transcripts to Ohio State

Autumn 2024 Application for Spring 2025 Admission

Applications Open: September 3, 2024
Application Submission Deadline: October 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Application Cancellation Deadline: October 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Admission Decision Date: To be announced
Deadline to Accept Admission Offer: To be announced

Transfer Credit Completed Prior to Autumn 2024
Credit & Evaluation Posting Deadline: Monday, October 7, 2024

Enrollment at Another Institution During Autumn 2024
Transcripts Received Deadline: Friday, December 20, 2024 - Review Sending Transcripts to Ohio State

Spring 2025 Application for Autumn 2025 Admission

Applications Open: January 21, 2025
Application Submission Deadline: February 21, 2025 at 5:00 pm
Application Cancellation Deadline: March 21, 2025 at 5:00 pm
Admission Decision Date: To be announced
Deadline to Accept Admission Offer: To be announced

Transfer Credit Completed Prior to Spring 2025
Credit & Evaluation Posting Deadline: Friday, February 21, 2025

Enrollment at Another Institution During Spring 2025
Transcripts Received Deadline: Thursday, May 15, 2025 - Review Sending Transcripts to Ohio State