College Prep Coursework

The University of Cincinnati requires that high school students applying for their first year of college at the Uptown (Main) campus have completed the following Ohio college-preparatory curriculum or their state's college preparatory curriculum:

Minimum requirements:

    4 units of English

    4 units of math*

    3 units of science

    3 units of social studies

    5 units of electives**

*Mathematics units must include 1 unit of algebra II or the equivalent of algebra II.

**Electives can include any combination of foreign language, additional core courses not otherwise required, fine arts, business, career-technical education, family and consumer sciences, technology, or agricultural education.

Please Note: 1 unit is defined as the equivalent to one full year of course instruction.

In partnership with a college-preparatory curriculum, students who are offered admission to the following majors have historically demonstrated academic preparedness by successfully completeing certain courses while in high school. 

• Complete Math through Pre-calculus

• Complete Math at least through Pre-calculus and/or Calculus***
• Complete Physics and Chemistry***

• Complete Math through Statistics, but highly recommend Pre-calculus***
• Complete either Physics or Chemistry***

• Complete Chemistry

• Complete Math through Pre-calculus, Calculus, or Advanced Math
• Complete Physics

• Complete Biology and Chemistry

***Required for admission into these majors. 

Applications submitted for the University of Cincinnati’s Uptown (main) Campus are reviewed holistically, considering every item provided in the application file.* Applications are read by admission team members, who are trained to use application information—both academic and personal—to more fully understand who the applicant is, how likely they are to be academically successful in an Uptown campus program, and what attributes the student will bring to our campus community. Consequently, there is not a “minimum” GPA or ACT/SAT test score, just as there is not a guaranteed admission based on a student’s profile.

Cincinnati admits students directly into their major. While the holistic review process outlined above is used for every college, some colleges or majors may be more competitive than others. Your selected major may provide us with a lens through which to view your application. For example, strong math and science skills are necessary to be successful in our engineering program and we will look for evidence of those skills before we offer admission to an engineering program.

*View our application information to see what is needed to complete your application file.