GRE requirements · United States

The Ohio State University GRE requirements (2026)

Ohio State's Graduate School does not require the GRE; the requirement is set program by program. Some programs require it (such as Statistics), some require a score only if your GPA is below 3.0, and many have dropped it since 2020.

Updated 22 Jun 2026Last checked 22 Jun 20264 min read

About The Ohio State University

The Ohio State University is a large public research university in Columbus, Ohio, and one of the biggest universities in the United States by enrollment. Its graduate programs run through the Graduate School, which sets a university-wide testing baseline that individual programs can override.

GRE requirement by program

The Ohio State University sets its GRE policy by program, so there is rarely a single university-wide answer. Below is each program we have checked, with its status, a link to the program's own admissions page, and the date we last confirmed it.

Program	Status	Official source	Last checked
The Graduate School (university-wide policy) PhD and masters	Optional The Graduate School states the GRE and GMAT are not required for admission. Individual programs may require them, and a standardized test score is required only if your cumulative GPA is below 3.0 and your program requires it.	gpadmissions.osu.edu	Jun 2026
Graduate School Handbook (admissions policy) University-wide baseline	Optional The Graduate School Handbook states plainly that the GRE and the GMAT are not required for admission to the Graduate School, while certain programs may still require them.	gradsch.osu.edu	Jun 2026
Department of Statistics MS and PhD	Required The Statistics department requires the GRE General Test, with no minimum score, and does not require any GRE Subject Test.	stat.osu.edu	Jun 2026
Most other programs PhD and masters	Varies by program Policy is set by each program. Many departments stopped requiring the GRE around 2020, while others still require or recommend it, so confirm the requirement on your specific program's page.	gpadmissions.osu.edu	Jun 2026

Each status was read from the program's own admissions page (last checked 22 06 2026). Policies change between cycles; always confirm on the linked official page before you apply.

Not the program you need? The status is set department by department. Use the three-step check on the is the GRE required page to confirm any program in a couple of minutes.

What GRE score do you need for The Ohio State University?

There is no single The Ohio State University GRE cutoff, because programs admit on the whole application and most do not publish a hard minimum. In practice, aim for a score at or above the admitted-student median for your specific program, which some departments share in a class profile or on request. A percentile around the 80th or higher on the section that matters most to your field, Quant for STEM and economics or Verbal for the humanities, is a safe target wherever a score is worth submitting.

Where The Ohio State University marks a program Optional, a score comfortably above that median can strengthen a borderline application, especially for funded or international applicants. Below it, your effort is usually better spent on the required parts of the file. Where a program is Not accepted, do not send a score, it will not be reviewed.

Unsure where you would land? Sit a free full-length mock and convert your scaled score to its exact official percentile before you decide.

GRE requirements at other universities

Compare The Ohio State Universitywith the GRE policies at other top programs. Each page is sourced from the university's own admissions pages and dated.

Stanford University Yale University University of California, Berkeley Princeton University Columbia University in the City of New York Cornell University Carnegie Mellon University University of California, Los Angeles University of Michigan, Ann Arbor California Institute of Technology

Frequently asked questions

Not university-wide. The Graduate School does not require the GRE, and each program sets its own policy. Some programs require it (such as Statistics), some require a score only if your GPA is below 3.0, and many have dropped it. Confirm your program's own page.

Possibly. Ohio State requires a GRE or GMAT score only when your cumulative GPA for your last degree is below 3.0 and your specific program requires the score. Otherwise the Graduate School does not require it.

ETS reports your GRE scores for five years from your test date, so a score you earn now stays usable across several application cycles. A program can set a shorter window, so confirm the cutoff on The Ohio State University's admissions page before you apply. A free mock test shows where you would score today.

Every status here is read from the program's own admissions page and dated. Policies change between cycles, so always confirm on the linked official page before you apply. See our editorial standards for how we source and date claims.

GRE policy is set program by program, so two departments at the same university can differ. Use the three-step check on our is the GRE required guide to confirm any program in a couple of minutes.

If you can score at or above the program's admitted-student median, a strong score is a low-risk way to add a signal, especially for funded or international applicants. Below that, focus on the required parts. A free mock is the fastest way to see where you would land.