University of Cincinnati-Main Campus

Public · Moderately Selective · OH

Photo: Bike756 (Public domain)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationOH · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads29,882

Student:faculty19:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate42.2%

6-yr grad rate75%

Drop-out rate14.6%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$14k

Out-of-state tuition$29k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity31%

Gender diversity50.3%

International5.2%

Identity—

Overview

The University of Cincinnati is where cooperative education was invented, and paid co-op rotations with employers remain central to its identity today. It is a large urban research university deeply tied to Cincinnati's major companies and hospital systems, and its campus is unusually notable in architecture circles for a 1990s master-planning effort that commissioned buildings from major-name architects, including Frank Gehry and Michael Graves.

Academics

Co-op is most deeply embedded in engineering, where students alternate semesters of coursework with paid, relevant industry work, but the model extends into other programs as well. The Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning college (DAAP) is nationally known and highly selective within the university, with a similarly structured co-op requirement for design and architecture students. The College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a further, less widely known strength — a genuinely elite conservatory-level music and musical-theater program operating inside a large public research university, uncommon for a school this size.

Campus & student life

The campus sits in an urban Cincinnati setting, with the surrounding neighborhoods offering a genuine city social scene alongside a large, architecturally striking main campus core built around Nippert Stadium, one of the oldest college football stadiums still in continuous use on its original site. The co-op calendar shapes campus rhythms noticeably, since students are frequently rotating in and out for work rotations rather than following a conventional two-semester academic year.

Getting in

Admissions is generally accessible for the main university, though DAAP and CCM both require competitive portfolio- or audition-based application processes distinct from general admission, and are notably harder to get into than the university overall.

After graduation

Co-op participation gives graduates extensive real-world experience and strong employer relationships before graduation, particularly with Cincinnati-based companies and hospital systems, and DAAP graduates place into design and architecture firms with a level of practical preparation uncommon among peer programs. CCM alumni go on to professional orchestras, opera companies, and Broadway-caliber musical theater careers.

Worth knowing

Prospective students should understand the co-op calendar changes the normal college timeline — many students take five years to graduate because of alternating work rotations, which is a feature of the program rather than a delay — and that DAAP and CCM admission are separate, more competitive tracks from general university admission.

uc.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate85.3%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1160–1370 · ACT 24–29

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App.

Priority / scholarshipNov 1

Applying by the priority deadline gives you the best shot at competitive programs, merit scholarships, and the University Honors Program, with decisions released on UC's Decision Day (the second Wednesday in December); UC keeps reviewing applications on a rolling, space-available basis afterward.

Interviews: Interviews aren't part of general admission review; College-Conservatory of Music applicants may be invited to a final audition/interview, and College of Nursing applicants may be invited to an on-campus interview.

Supplemental essays (1)

Personal Statement
What motivated you to choose your first-choice academic program? In your response, please share personal insights, interests, goals, or experiences—especially those not already included in your application.
500 words · Required · UC's own required personal statement, submitted through the application platform; the 500-word figure is guidance rather than a strict cap.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗