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. A password to the survey will be emailed to you at the beginning of your last autumn semester. You're also welcome to email your physics academic advisor to request the password sooner.
  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, schedule an appointment with your honors advisor and bring your Major Program Form with you to the meeting. During your meeting with your honors advisor, your GE and honors requirements will be checked and you will review and sign a graduation application.

Engineering Physics Majors

  1. Complete the online Engineering Physics graduation survey. A password to the survey will be emailed to you at the beginning of your last autumn semester. You're also welcome to email Lindsey Thaler (thaler.21@osu.edu) to request the password.
  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 require students to apply for graduation a term prior to graduating.  Below are the deadlines to submit your graduation paperwork and complete the graduation survey. Students who miss the application deadline might have to delay their graduation by a semester. Check with an academic advisor for more details.

Summer 2022 (graduation date of August 7, 2022) - Apply for graduation by May 6, 2022
Autumn 2022 (graduation date of December 18, 2022) - Apply for graduation by August 12, 2022
Spring 2023 (graduation date of May 7, 2023) - Apply for graduation by December 9, 2022

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 2021-2022 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.