The Ohio State University (Ohio State, tOSU, or OSU) is a public research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1870, it is the flagship institution of the University System of Ohio. It is designated a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant university by the government of Ohio.
Ohio State is one of the largest universities by enrollment in the United States, with over 50,000 undergraduate students and 15,000 graduate students. Ohio State is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity spending and doctorate production". In 2026 the university had research and development (R&D) expenditures of $1.58 billion, the 12th largest in the United States.
The university consists of sixteen colleges, including of Arts and Sciences, Business, Dentistry, Engineering, Public Affairs, and Law, and offers study in a wide range of degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It has five satellite campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark, and Wooster. Its athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I within the Big Ten Conference for the large majority of sports.
Alumni and faculty include 6 Nobel Prize laureates, 9 Rhodes Scholars, 7 Churchill Scholars, 1 Fields Medalist, 8 Pulitzer Prize winners, 77 Goldwater scholars, 1 U.S. vice president, 7 U.S. senators, 15 U.S. representatives, and 118 Olympic medalists.
History
19th century
The university was established in 1870 as a land-grant university named Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The proposal of a manufacturing and agriculture university in central Ohio was initially met in the 1870s with hostility from the state's agricultural interests, and with competition for resources from Ohio University and Miami University. The university opened its doors to 24 students on September 17, 1873. In 1878, the first class of six men graduated. The first woman graduated the following year. Also in 1878, the Ohio legislature recognized an expanded scope for the university by changing its name to "the Ohio State University".The government of Ohio, in its official web site listing the state's compiled laws: "3335.01 The Ohio State University. The educational institution originally designated as the Ohio agricultural and mechanical college shall be known as "The Ohio State University"." http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3335
20th century In 1906, Ohio State president and segregationist William Oxley Thompson, along with the university's supporters in the state legislature, put forth the Lybarger Bill with the aim of shifting virtually all higher education support to the continued development of Ohio State while funding only the "normal school" functions of the state's other public universities. Although the Lybarger Bill failed narrowly to gain passage, in its place the Eagleson Bill was passed as a compromise, which determined that all doctoral education and research functions would be the role of Ohio State, and that Miami University and Ohio University would not offer instruction beyond the master's degree level – an agreement that would remain in place until the 1950s. In 1916, Ohio State was elected into membership in the Association of American Universities.With the onset of the Great Depression, Ohio State would face many of the challenges affecting universities throughout America as budget support was slashed, and students without the means of paying tuition returned home to support families. By the mid-1930s, however, enrollment had stabilized due in large part to the role of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and later the National Youth Administration.A Favored Child of the State: Federal Student Aid at Ohio Colleges and Universities, 1934–1943 Kevin P. Bower By the end of the decade, enrollment had still managed to grow to over 17,500. In 1934, the Ohio State Research Foundation was founded to bring in outside funding for faculty research projects. In 1938, a development office was opened to begin raising funds privately to offset reductions in state support. In 1952, Ohio State founded the interdisciplinary Mershon Center for International Security Studies, which it still houses. In 1986, Ohio State ended its historic open enrollment policy and moved towards selective admissions.
The university jointed several other grants in the late 1980s. It was designated a space-grant institution in 1988. It was designated a sea-grant institution one year later, in 1989.
21st century In 2020, Kristina M. Johnson took office as the 16th president. Her tenure was marked by the university incorporating various diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which led to criticism from conservatives.
In 2023, there was a power struggle between Johnson and Les Wexner, a billionaire and close affiliate of Jeffrey Epstein. Wexner was formerly a member of the OSU board of trustees and some sources claim his exertion of political influence over the board of trustees caused the power struggle. Shortly after, Johnson resigned from her role.
In 2023, Walter E. Carter Jr. took office as the 17th president. His tenure has been described as more conservative than Johnson's, rolling back many of her perceived progressive policies. His appointment was the result of a power struggle between Johnson and Les Wexner, a billionaire and close affiliate of Jeffrey Epstein who has significant influence on the board of trustees.
Along with other public universities in the state, DEI policies were banned in 2025 with the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, which passed the Ohio State legislature and was signed by governor Mike DeWine. In 2026, the university's expulsion of Guy Christensen for criticism of the Gaza genocide was ruled by a federal judge as a "likely violation" of the student's First Amendment rights. Scholars at Risk noted "a chilling effect on academic freedom" in 2024 due to political interference from the university's board of trustees and the state government.
In January 2025, the defense technology company Anduril Industries announced a hyperscaling computer facilities for autonomous sensors and weapons that has been noted for its close ties with Ohio State University and its administration, with the company sponsoring the football program and many of Anduril's employees hailing from the applied science programs at the university.
On March 8, 2026, Carter resigned, after admitting to an "inappropriate relationship", marking a continuation of abrupt departures and controversy at the university Protests against Les Wexner's influence and relationship with the university are ongoing.
In April 2026, The New York Times published an article about OSU named A Football School Striving to Be More Keeps Dropping the Ball, with the opening sentence "Ohio State isn’t the only university in turmoil, but few others have faced so many issues lately."
Campuses
Main (Columbus)
Ohio State's main campus is about north of Columbus' downtown. The historical center of campus is the Oval, a quad of about . The original campus was laid out in the English country style with University Hall overlooking what would become the Oval. From 1905 to 1913, the Olmsted brothers, who had designed New York City's Central Park, were contracted as architectural consultants. Under their leadership, a more formal landscape plan was created with its center axis through the Oval. This axis shifted the university's street grid 12.25 degrees from the City of Columbus' street grid. Construction of the main library in 1915 reinforced this grid shift.
Ohio State's research library system has a combined collection of over 5.8 million volumes. Along with 21 libraries on its Columbus campus, the university has eight branches at off-campus research facilities and regional campuses, and a book storage depository near campus. In all, the Ohio State library system encompasses 55 branches and specialty collections. Some more significant collections include the Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, which has the archives of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and other polar research materials; the Hilandar Research Library, which has the world's largest collection of medieval Slavic manuscripts on microform; the Ohio State Cartoon Library & Museum, the world's largest repository of original cartoons; the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute. And the archives of Senator John Glenn Anchoring the traditional campus gateway at the eastern end of the Oval is the 1989 Wexner Center for the Arts. Designed by architects Peter Eisenman of New York and Richard Trott of Columbus, the center was funded in large part by Ohio State alumnus Les Wexner's gift of $25 million in the 1980s. The center was founded to encompass all aspects of visual and performing arts with a focus on new commissions and artist residencies. Part of its design was to pay tribute to the armory that formerly had the same location. Its groundbreaking deconstructivist architecture has resulted in it being lauded as one of the most important buildings of its generation. Its design has also been criticized as proving less than ideal for many of the art installations it has attempted to display. The centerpiece of the Wexner Center's permanent collection is Picasso's Nude on a Black Armchair, which was purchased by Wexner at auction for $45 million.
To the south of the Oval is another, somewhat smaller expanse of green space commonly referred to as the South Oval. At its eastern end, it is anchored by the Ohio Union. To the west are Hale Hall, the Kuhn Honors House, Browning Amphitheatre (a traditional stone Greek theatre) and Mirror Lake. Knowlton Hall, dedicated in October 2004, is at the corner of West Woodruff Avenue and Tuttle Park Place, next to Ohio Stadium.
Knowlton Hall along with the Fisher College of Business and Hitchcock Hall form an academic nucleus in the northwestern corner of North campus. Knowlton Hall was designed by Atlanta-based Mack Scogin Merrill Elam along with WSA Studio from Columbus. The Hall is home to the KSA Café, the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, and about 550 undergraduate and graduate students. Knowlton Hall stands out from the general reddish-brown brick of Ohio State's campus with distinctive white marble tiles that cover the building's exterior. This unique wall cladding was requested by Austin E. Knowlton, the namesake of and main patron to the creation of Knowlton Hall. Knowlton also requested that five white marble columns be erected on the site, each column representing one of the classical orders of architecture.
The campus is served by the Campus Area Bus Service.
Regional campuses Ohio State has five satellite campuses across Ohio.
Lima
The Ohio State University at Lima is a satellite campus in Lima, Ohio, founded in 1960. The Lima Campus Library has 76,000 volumes and 200+ journal subscriptions. Library databases also provide access to thousands of online journals. The university shares its campus with Rhodes State College.
Mansfield
The Ohio State University at Mansfield is a satellite campus in Mansfield, Ohio, founded in 1958. It was created through a partnership between Mansfield-area citizens and the state of Ohio. Soon after the Ohio Board of Regents designated Mansfield as the site for an Ohio State regional campus, Mansfield-area citizens mounted a major campaign to acquire land for the campus. The university shares its campus with North Central State College.
Marion
The Ohio State University at Marion is a satellite campus in Marion, Ohio. The campus was founded in 1957. Its campus is located north of Columbus and is shared with Marion Technical College. There are eight buildings on the campus.
Newark