Admission Requirements

High School Preparation

Preparation for an engineering career should begin in high school. Math and science courses are the most important, since they will provide the basis for understanding and using technical information. Students must also be able to write and speak well. Also, students should be well-rounded in history, cultural arts and current events to help them understand the needs of people everywhere. Classes in keyboarding, engineering drawing or graphics and programming are also helpful.

Applying to Ohio State

Students who have been admitted to Ohio State indicating engineering as their area of interest and having competitive ACT or SAT scores will be directly enrolled as pre-engineering students in the College of Engineering.

Students not eligible to directly enroll in engineering may enroll in the University Exploration program, and upon completion of the prerequisite math and science sequence, apply directly to the College of Engineering.

Visit the university’s undergraduate site for general and current admission information for first-year students and to apply online. International first-year students should also visit the international undergraduate site for specific admissions information.

Applying to the ECE Major

Step 1: Successfully Complete the ECE Pre-Major Requirements
Any student seeking the Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering must apply for acceptance into the degree program. A student becomes eligible to apply at the beginning of the semester in which that student will complete the following ECE pre-major requirements. If you are unsure if you have the requirements needed to enter into the major please meet with an academic advisor.

English 1110 and a university survey course must be successfully completed prior to entry into the major.

Step 2: Complete and Submit the Application to Major

ECE accepts applications to the major every semester. An application to major must be completed and returned to the department no later than the fourth Friday of the semester in which the student is completing their pre-major requirements (i.e. the semester before the students wants to enter the major). Students will be permitted to register for ECE major courses for the following semester.

Students will be notified of official acceptance into the major after grades for all courses are checked in order to determine appropriate SPHR and CPHR.

Acceptance Procedure
For the acceptance-to-major selection process, OSU grades comprising both the Cumulative Point Hour Ratio (CPHR) and Secondary Point Hour Ratio (SPHR) are considered. The SPHR is the grade average of the pre-major courses listed above for each program of study (not including English 1110 and University Survey)‡. Please note: Courses completed at other institutions do not count in the Special Point Hour Ratio (SPHR) at OSU; however, they may count toward degree requirements. To be admitted, students must successfully complete the required pre-major courses. Students must also have a CPHR of a 3.0 or better to be admitted to the major OR a CPHR of a 2.0 and an SPHR of a 2.2. The admission of the SPHR may be changed in the future.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering may deny registration in electrical and computer engineering courses to those students who have not been admitted to the BSECE major or who do not have the written permission of the department.