University of Cincinnati: Courses, Fees & Admissions

University profile

About University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati (UC), in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a public research university founded in 1819 and classified as a Carnegie R1 research university. It is the birthplace of cooperative education, the model in which paid professional experience is built into degree programmes, and it reports more than 1,800 global co-op employer partners.

UC enrolled 54,437 students in Fall 2026, of whom 44,207 are undergraduates and 10,230 are graduate and professional students. Students come from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and from 130 countries. It has 6,765 faculty (3,789 full-time and 2,976 part-time, excluding volunteer faculty) and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1.

Academic work is organised in 15 colleges and schools covering engineering, medicine, business, design, education, health sciences and the arts. They include the College of Arts & Sciences; College of Allied Health Sciences; College-Conservatory of Music (CCM); College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning (DAAP); College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services; College of Engineering & Applied Science; Lindner College of Business; College of Law; College of Medicine; College of Nursing; and College of Pharmacy. UC offers 454 degree programmes: 68 associate, 140 bachelor's, 142 master's, 92 doctoral and 11 professional degrees, plus 232 certificates and 23 micro-credentials.

The main (Uptown) campus sits in Cincinnati's Uptown district beside Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, UC Health, TriHealth and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Two regional campuses, UC Blue Ash College and UC Clermont College, offer associate degrees and pathways to the main campus; neither has student housing. The main campus has 18 residence halls, and UC Recreation Center, dining halls and libraries are on campus. UC competes in NCAA Division I athletics in the Big 12 Conference as the Bearcats.

UC welcomes more than 3,000 international students from 115 countries each year. English-language preparation is available through the ELS Language Center on the main campus, with conditional admission to UC on completion. The university is led by President Neville Pinto and governed by a Board of Trustees.

University information

Tuition (Uptown campus, 2026-2027 cohort, per full-time semester)

Ohio resident: $7,412
Indiana/Kentucky metropolitan resident: $7,712
Non-resident (out of state): $15,079
Blue Ash: $3,819 (Ohio resident), $8,218 (non-resident). Clermont: $3,580 (Ohio resident), $7,196 (non-resident).

The Cincinnati Tuition Guarantee holds tuition, mandatory fees and room and board at a consistent rate for up to four or five years for each entering cohort.

Estimated expenses for international students

Main Campus undergraduate: tuition and fees $30,310, living expenses $17,999, health insurance $2,521, total $50,830. Blue Ash: $16,247 tuition and fees; Clermont: $14,412.

International Outreach Scholarship

International undergraduates may receive an International Outreach Scholarship applied to the out-of-state surcharge, averaging $5,000-$15,000 per academic year on the main campus and $1,000-$4,000 at Blue Ash and Clermont. No separate scholarship application is required.

Merit scholarships for first-year students

Cincinnatus Scholarship Program: over $38 million in renewable scholarships; Presidential Scholarships ($120,000 over four years, estimated $30,000 per year) and Century and University Scholarships ($5,000 to $24,000). Complete application by November 1.
UC National Outreach Award: $10,000 per year for out-of-state first-year students, renewable for 8 semesters with a 3.0 GPA and 30 hours of annual community service.
Darwin T. Turner Scholarship, NEXT Innovation Scholars (up to $8,000 per year), Marian Spencer Scholarship (Cincinnati Public Schools students), and college scholarships.

Transfer scholarships

Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship ($6,000 per year, 3.75 GPA); UC Community College Transfer Scholarship ($2,500 per year, 3.0 GPA); apply by April 30.

Graduate funding

Graduate Incentive Award and Graduate Assistant Scholarship cover all or part of tuition and fees; assistantships and fellowships are awarded by programmes through the Graduate College. Federal aid via FAFSA is for eligible U.S. students.

More: UC scholarships, international costs and funding.

International Outreach Scholarship →

Cincinnatus Scholarship Program →

UC National Outreach Award →

Marian Spencer Scholarship →

Find scholarships on our site

Browse the scholarships listed for University of Cincinnati and check each award’s eligibility.

View scholarships for University of Cincinnati →

First-year admission

Applicants apply through the Common Application, choosing the Uptown, Blue Ash or Clermont campus (one campus only). UC is test-optional for first-year students: programmes consider applicants with or without an SAT or ACT score, and applicants without a score still receive full scholarship consideration if they meet the Early Action deadline. Review is holistic, looking at completion of a core curriculum, grades throughout high school, rigorous coursework such as AP, honors or dual credit, application essays and extracurricular activities. Credit may be awarded for AP, IB, Cambridge A-Levels, CLEP, College Credit Plus and DSST. Some programmes have additional requirements and some close early.

First-year deadlines

Fall: Early Action November 1 (non-binding; required for the University Honors Program and merit scholarships); rolling application deadline March 1; confirmation May 1.
Spring: application November 1; confirmation December 1.
Summer: application March 1; confirmation April 1.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing priority deadline is November 1; College-Conservatory of Music applicants are encouraged to submit pre-screening materials by November 15.

Transfer admission

Students who earned a high school diploma or GED and attended another college are transfer applicants. Deadlines: fall July 1 (confirmation August 1), spring November 1 (confirmation December 1), summer March 1 (confirmation April 1). CCM has a December 1 fall deadline and DAAP a March 1 fall deadline.

International applicants

First-year: complete the Common Application, pay the $100 non-refundable fee, submit official school transcripts (with certified English translation if not in English) and optional recommendation letter. Applicants are expected to have completed a secondary curriculum that qualifies for university entry in the home country, for example the High School Diploma, IB Diploma, GCE A-Levels, West African Senior School Certificate or Indian Standard XII certificate. Typical preparation is four years of mathematics, three to four years of science and three to four years of language, history or social sciences and electives.
English proficiency is required unless one of four exemptions applies; scores must be valid within two years of the start term. Minimums for most colleges: TOEFL iBT 79 overall with 20 writing, 20 speaking and 15 other sections (before January 2026) or 4.0 overall, 4.0 writing, 4.0 speaking and 3.5 other sections (after January 2026); IELTS 6.5 overall, 6.0 writing, 6.0 speaking, 5.5 other sub-scores; Duolingo 100 overall; PTE 53; Cambridge 176; ELS 112 graduation; SAT 480 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing; ACT English 19. CCM minimums are lower (IELTS 6.0 overall, 5.0 sub-scores; Duolingo 100 overall; TOEFL iBT 66).
Financial documentation: proof of funds for all years of study, dated within the last six months, is required before an I-20 or DS-2019 is issued; sponsors submit an Affidavit of Support. Dependents require an additional $6,000 per year for a spouse and $3,000 per year for each child.
Transfer: international transfer applicants pay the $100 fee, provide a course-by-course credential evaluation from a NACES member for study outside the U.S., and transfer their SEVIS record.

Graduate admission

Applicants need a bachelor's degree (or higher) from an accredited institution or the international equivalent, with at least a B average recommended. Each programme sets its own deadlines, tests and requirements. Most programmes use the UC Graduate Admissions Application; nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, audiology, speech-language pathology and public health use external centralised applications. Application fee: $65 domestic and $70 international for most degree programmes; $20 and $25 for graduate certificates; Engineering is $75 domestic and $80 international. Some programmes require a NACES transcript evaluation from international applicants. Official transcripts or an evaluation showing degree conferral are required by the start of the first term.

Uptown (Main) Campus, Cincinnati, OH: the largest campus and the one offering the most majors; home to most colleges, 18 residence halls, the UC Recreation Center and the athletics venues. Most international students attend here.
UC Blue Ash College, Blue Ash, OH: regional campus offering associate degrees and pathways to the main campus; no student housing; about a 20-30 minute drive from the main campus, with a UC shuttle at designated times.
UC Clermont College, Clermont County, OH: regional campus offering associate degrees and pathways to the main campus; no student housing; about a 20-30 minute drive from the main campus.

Across UC campuses there are 477 acres, 140 buildings and nearly 15 million square feet of facilities.

Menu

Study abroad

Account

University of Cincinnati