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 Change or Declare Your Engineering Pre-Major for information regarding switching into an engineering pre-major.
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.
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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.
- Aviation* - Aviation Advisor
- Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering - FABE Advisor
- Industrial and Systems Engineering - ISE Advisor
- Materials Science and Engineering - MSE Advisor
- Welding Engineering - Welding Advisor
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 - Available to All Engineering Students
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
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Engineering Physics
Limited Space - 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
- Learn about the different computer science options at Ohio State.
- 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.
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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 Engineering, Food, 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.
Students must have a cumulative Ohio State GPA of 2.0 or better, be enrolled in an engineering/computer science major or pre-major, and meet the criteria for each major choice by the end of the semester in which they are applying.
- Aerospace Engineering - Calculus II; Fundamentals of Engineering; Physics I; and enrollment in the aerospace or mechanical pre-major
- Biomedical Engineering - Calculus II; Fundamentals of Engineering; either Chemistry II or both Chemistry I and Physics I; and enrollment in the biomedical pre-major
- Chemical Engineering - Calculus II; Fundamentals of Engineering; and either Chemistry II or both Chemistry I and Physics I
- Civil Engineering - Calculus II, Fundamentals of Engineering, and one of Chemistry I or Physics I
- Computer Science - Calculus I; CSE 2221 (grade of C or better); enrollment in a computer science pre-major; and
- CSE option - Calculus II; and Fundamentals of Engineering*
- *CIS pre-majors applying to the CSE option will not be required to meet the Fundamentals of Engineering criteria. However, if admitted to CSE, students are expect to complete ENGR 1181/1182 during their first year in the major.
- CIS BA option - GE Foundations: Writing and Information Literacy
- CIS BS option - Physics I; and GE Foundations: Writing and Information Literacy
- Learn about the different computer science options at Ohio State.
- CSE option - Calculus II; and Fundamentals of Engineering*
- Electrical and Computer Engineering - Calculus II, Fundamentals of Engineering, and one of Chemistry I, Physics I, or CSE 2221
- Engineering Physics - Calculus II, Fundamentals of Engineering, and Physics II (grade of C+ or better)
- Environmental Engineering - Calculus II, Fundamentals of Engineering, and one of Chemistry I or Physics I
- Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering - No additional criteria prior to applying to this major
- Industrial and Systems Engineering - No additional criteria prior to applying to this major
- Materials Science and Engineering - No additional criteria prior to applying to this major
- Mechanical Engineering - Calculus II; Fundamentals of Engineering; Physics I; and enrollment in the aerospace or mechanical pre-major
- Welding Engineering - No additional criteria prior to applying to this major
- Calculus I options: MATH 1141, 1151, 1161
- Calculus II options - MATH 1152, 1172, 1181H, 2162, 4181H
- Fundamentals of Engineering options - ENGR 1182, 1282H, or all three of ENGR 1186, 1187, 1188
- Chemistry I options - CHEM 1208, 1210, 1250, 1610, 1910H
- Chemistry II options - CHEM 1220, 1620, 1920H
- Physics I options - PHYSICS 1250, 1250H, 1260, 1270
- Physics II options - PHYSICS 1251, 1251H, 1261, 1271
Students are eligible to apply to different majors based on completion of the program requirements. Find which majors you are eligible to apply to based on the science and technical courses you will have completed. You are eligible to apply to the majors listed in each group that you will be completed by the end of application semester.
Physics I options - PHYSICS 1250, 1250H, 1260, 1270
- Aerospace Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering
- Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Welding Engineering
Physics I options - PHYSICS 1250, 1250H, 1260, 1270
Physics II options - PHYSICS 1251, 1251H, 1261, 1271
- Aerospace Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Engineering Physics
- Environmental Engineering
- Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering
- Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Welding Engineering
Chemistry I options - CHEM 1208, 1210, 1250, 1610, 1910H
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering
- Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Welding Engineering
Chemistry I options - CHEM 1208, 1210, 1250, 1610, 1910H
Chemistry II options - CHEM 1220, 1620, 1920H
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering
- Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Welding Engineering
Chemistry I options - CHEM 1208, 1210, 1250, 1610, 1910H
Physics I options - PHYSICS 1250, 1250H, 1260, 1270
- Aerospace Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering
- Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Welding Engineering
Software I options - CSE 2221
- Computer Science (CSE and CIS)
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering
- Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Welding Engineering
What if Degree Audit

Students are encouraged to generate a What If Degree Audit to show which majors they are eligible to apply to. Students should choose Run Selected Program and select School - ENG - Engineering, College - ENG, Major - ENGPRE-PRE, Degree - NONE INDIC, and Catalog Year - AU 2022.
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 the CIS option in Computer science are not required to have credit for Calculus II and Fundamentals of Engineering to be eligible for choice 2 and choice 3 engineering majors. Applicants will still need to meet the science/technical course requirement for their choice 2 and 3 options.
- Students not admitted to Computer Science and who accept an admission offer to their choice 2 or 3 engineering major will be required to complete the engineering common requirements (Calculus II and ENGR 1181/1182) during their first year in the major.
- Engineering majors are assessed a program fee each semester. CIS pre-majors should be aware their cost of attendance may increase by switching from the CIS pre-major to an engineering major by accepting a choice 2 or 3 offer.
- Goals, Problems to be Solved, and How the Three Discipline Areas Will Help Set You on Your Way
- For the {major choice 1} program, describe how a degree in that area will help you to achieve your career goals and address the problems that interest you. (maximum 1500 characters with spaces)
- For the {major choice 2} program, describe how a degree in that area will help you to achieve your career goals and address the problems that interest you. (maximum 1500 characters with spaces)
- For the {major choice 3} program, describe how a degree in that area will help you to achieve your career goals and address the problems that interest you. (maximum 1500 characters with spaces)
*Essay 1 (the major essay) is not required for applicants to the Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering major and the Welding Engineering major.
- Problems in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) are inherently complex. Solving them requires extensive teamwork and collaboration. Research shows teams that are diverse in terms of how members process information, in social perspectives, and lived experience tend to be more creative, faster, and effective in their problem solving.
With this definition of diversity in mind, reflect on and discuss your experiences working in teams. What have you learned from those experiences that you can apply or share as you progress in your education and career? [Here, ‘team’ refers to any group of people working together; could be family members, co-workers, students, neighbors, etc. ] (maximum 1500 characters with spaces) - Pursuing a degree in a STEM field requires determination, as well as the ability to master coursework. With this in mind, please describe any experiences, challenges, or circumstances that have influenced or affected your academic performance or your desire to pursue a degree in STEM. (maximum 1500 characters with spaces)
View the Essay Grading Rubrics.
Note to Students: Please write and save your essays outside of the application system. Do not write your essays in the application. If the application system times out, you will lose your progress. When you are prepared to submit your application, copy and paste your essays into the system.
- Students must be enrolled in an engineering or computer science pre-major to apply for admission to major. Students not enrolled in an engineering or computer science pre-major/major will first need to change into one before going through the admission to major process. Students should follow the Change to an Engineering Pre-Major process.
- Students have two attempts to seek admission to a major through the Admission to Major process. Applications reviewed at the end of term will be considered an attempt. Students not awarded admission to a major after the second attempt, and students who do not wish to accept an offer during their second attempt will not be permitted to apply a third time. Applications with a status of "Withdrawn" or "Cancelled..." do not count as an attempt.
- Application Cancellation. Students may cancel their application by the 10th week of the semester. Applications cancelled by the deadline listed below will not count as an application attempt. Applications not cancelled by the deadline will be assessed for admission eligibility at the end of the semester and therefore deemed an attempt.
- Students who accept an admission to a major offer are not permitted to reapply to a different major during the next admission cycle. Accepting an offer demonstrates the intent to complete the major program. Students who wish to reapply to a new major will need to wait one academic year to reapply. For example, if a student submits an application in Spring 2024 for Autumn 2024 admission and accepts the offer, the student would not be permitted to reapply during the Autumn 2024 cycle.
If students are interested in pursuing two engineering/computer science degree programs, this is referred to as pursing a dual degree (for example, a BS in Biomedical Engineering and a BS in Chemical Engineering).
Students who pursue a dual degree in engineering/computer science must apply to one major at a time in two separate admission cycles (for example, spring cycle for major 1 and autumn cycle for major 2). The first application submission should be to the first major/degree during the first admission attempt. Upon successful admission to the first major, the second application is submitted to the second major.
When applying to the second major/degree students should indicate on the application they are seeking a dual degree. This will ensure they are not switched out of their current major upon admission to the second major.
Note: Students wishing to add a dual degree in one of the Space Available Programs only need to visit the advisor to declare the second degree. And application is not required.
Dates, Deadlines, and Application to Major System Login
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Autumn 2023 Application for Spring 2024 Admission
Applications Open: September 5, 2023
Application Submission Deadline: October 9, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Application Cancellation Deadline: October 27, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Admission Decision Date: January 6, 2024
Deadline to Accept Admission Offer: January 10, 2024
Transfer Credit Completed Prior to Autumn 2023
Credit & Evaluation Posting Deadline: October 7, 2023
Enrollment at Another Institution During Autumn 2023
Transcripts Received Deadline: Friday, December 22, 2023 - Review Sending Transcripts to Ohio State
Link List
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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: To Be Announced
Deadline to Accept Admission Offer: To Be Announced
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