Graduation Information

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!  You have worked hard to earn it and there are only a few steps remaining until you are approved for graduation.  In order to be certified for graduation, please follow these steps, which should be done the term prior to your graduation.

Graduation Application Directions

Arts & Sciences Physics Majors

  1. Enroll in classes for your last semester. You cannot apply to graduate until after your last term course schedule is finalized.
  2. Complete the online Physics graduation survey. 
  3. Complete your graduation application:
    1. Non-honors students: Send an email to your physics academic advisor after you have completed steps 1 and 2 above. Your physics advisor will help you move forward with verifying your degree requirements and submitting a graduation application.
    2. Honors students: after you have completed steps 1 and 2 above, email your physics academic advisor to request a copy of your Major Program Form. After you have your Major Program Form, follow the directions on the ASC Honors website to submit your graduation application. 

Engineering Physics Majors

  1. Complete the online Engineering Physics graduation survey. 
  2. Submit an online graduation application at graduation.engineering.osu.edu. You will receive an email from your academic advisor after your application is approved. This could take 4-8 weeks depending on how far in advance you applied to graduate. Contact Lindsey Thaler (thaler.21@osu.edu) with any questions. Please note that your graduation application will not be reviewed until after you enroll in classes for your last semester. 

Graduation Application Deadlines

To ensure the classes you take during your last term at OSU will meet the requirements for graduation, we ask that students apply for graduation a term prior to graduating.  Below are the deadlines to submit your graduation paperwork and complete the graduation survey. These deadlines are chosen by the university and they are a hard deadline. Meaning, if you miss the deadline, you will need to graduate during the next semester instead.

Autumn 2024 (graduation date of December 15, 2024) - apply for graduation by October 25, 2024
Spring 2025 (graduation date of May 4, 2025) - apply for graduation by March 21, 2025

 

Employment

Looking to start a full time job after you graduate?  It is recommended that students begin their job search 6-8 months prior to graduating.  Therefore, if a student is graduating in May, he or he should start their job search in September.  The first step in your job search should be to register with Career Services.  Additional information to aid you in your job search can be found on the Careers in Physics page.

OSU offers many career fairs that are suitable for Physics and Engineering Physics majors.  Career fairs are a wonderful opportunity to come face-to-face with potential employers, some of which will schedule interviews with students on the spot.  The following career fairs are recommended for Physics and Engineering Physics majors (and are open to all OSU students):

A full list of OSU career fairs scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year can be found on the OSU Careers site.

Graduate School Information

Students who are planning to continue their education after finishing their Bachelor's Degree should meet with an advisor to discuss the timeline and requirements of applying to graduate or professional school. Students planning to pursue a Ph.D. or Master's degree in Physics will be required to complete the Physics GRE during the early part of their senior year. 

Additional information pertaining to the Physics GRE can be found on the Physics GRE Prep webpage.