In additional to the requirements listed under Graduate admissions or Professional admissions, international students are subject to these additional requirements.
Success at Ohio State depends upon your ability to converse in, write and understand English. The university requires official TOEFL, Duolingo or IELTS Academic test scores from all international applicants, except:
Note: If your courses were taught in English but you do not meet either of the above exceptions, you are still required to submit proof of English proficiency.
To be official, score results must be received directly from the testing agency (Duolingo, ETS or IELTS) by your application deadline. Use ETS institution code 1592 if sending a TOEFL score.
Duolingo, IELTS and TOEFL English proficiency test scores are valid for two years. Within this period, applicants can request official test scores be sent directly to The Ohio State University.
For initial admission: If Ohio State receives the official scores for an application and the expiration occurs prior to beginning the program of study, the scores still fulfill the English proficiency requirement.
For deferred admission: If granted admission and a deferral is approved, official scores sent that expire during the application and/or deferral process still fulfill the English proficiency requirement but will not exempt you from the English Placement Test.
Many graduate programs require a score above these minimums. Note: Ohio State does not accept IELTS One Skill Retake or My Best TOEFL Scores.
Applicants who are citizens of, or who have received a bachelor’s degree or higher by the time of matriculation from, one of the following countries or territories are exempt from the English proficiency requirement:
American Samoa Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda British Indian Ocean Territory Canada (except Quebec) Cayman Islands Christmas Island Cook Islands Dominica England Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Ghana Gibraltar Grenada Guam Guernsey Guyana Isle of Man Jamaica Jersey Liberia Montserrat Netherland Antilles New Zealand Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Ireland Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Island Puerto Rico Republic of Ireland St. Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Scotland Singapore Tokelau Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands (U.S and British) Wales
English proficiency policy has been set for this academic year. We are not granting test waivers or petitions to exempt countries not currently listed above at this time.
With few exceptions, international students (including those who were exempted from English proficiency requirements) are required to sit for an ESL Composition Placement Test upon arrival. In addition, if you are awarded a Graduate Teaching Associateship and English is not your first language, you will be required to certify your oral proficiency in English before assuming your associateship duties.
Read more about requirements after you are admitted.
One of Ohio State's graduate admission criteria is the completion of an American four-year bachelor's degree or the equivalent. Three-year degrees are not generally recognized to be equivalent.
The minimum requirement for admission to an Ohio State graduate program is 16 years of study. This is usually 12 years of secondary school plus four years of post-secondary study at a college or university. If you only have three years of post-secondary study, you must complete one of the following:
This work must be completed at an accredited university. Please note that we cannot give absolute assurance that your academic documentation will qualify you for graduate study until we have reviewed your documents. When you apply, you must provide transcripts and degree statements for all post-secondary course work at a college or university.
The following degrees are recognized by Ohio State.
One of Ohio State's graduate admission criteria is the completion of a four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited American institution, or the equivalent. Unfortunately, National Diplomas and HNDs are not recognized to be equivalent to an American four-year bachelor’s degree. As such, if you are still interested in pursuing studies at Ohio State, you may wish to check if you meet the criteria to apply as an undergraduate international transfer student.