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Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

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Overview
Finances
Eligibility
Department and Faculty

Overview

About Bowling Green State University

Founded in 1910 as a teacher-training institution, Bowling Green State University (BGSU) has been committed to the public good throughout its long and distinguished history of delivering high-quality education. A nationally ranked, research-intensive university, BGSU has been rated a tier-one university by the U.S. News & World Report and is also ranked number one in Ohio for career preparation. BGSU is among eight universities in the US to join the National Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Accelerator, cooperating with JPMorgan Chase to bring together higher education institutions, education-technology startups and employers to co-design and pilot innovative work-integrated learning models.

BGSU offers students over 200 programs and majors at the undergraduate level, and a host of graduate and online programs covering the entire academic spectrum. Unique programs are offered in AI, architecture, aviation and marine and aquatic biology. With the first in-nation Career Design and Coaching program across all its programs, BGSU offers great internship and co-op opportunities through all programs, and 70 percent job placement for its graduates after program completion.

BGSU’s high-quality research and creative partnerships, including faculty research activity which attracts over USD 20 million in grants annually, focuses on driving ground-breaking discoveries over a wide range of domains.

BGSU contributes significantly to the social and cultural scene in the northwest Ohio region and beyond, with its programs in the arts and athletics. Nearly 450 cultural events are hosted annually, giving students the chance to get involved in life beyond their classrooms. The university’s location, in Bowling Green, Ohio, is home to charming bookstores, restaurants, cafes, and shops, while also offering fairly easy access to big cities such as Cleveland and Detroit. For those who like the outdoors, there are bike trails, nature preserves, sledding hills, and more to explore.

University Ranking

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

2025 1001

2024 1001

Graduate outcomes

Students who graduate from BGSU benefit from excellent education and a memorable university experience, which significantly enhances their long-term career prospects. The university is dedicated to creating opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds, with a strong commitment to supporting disadvantaged groups, making it an excellent institution for upward social mobility.

The university provides an outstanding career service to students, helping them plan their career path and prepare for a smooth transition into their professional lives. This service assists with tasks such as resume writing, interview preparation, and guiding students in shaping their career goals and professional profiles before they graduate. Currently BGSU is reporting 72.3 percent job placement for its graduates after completion of their programs.

Graduates become part of BGSU’s global alumni network, which numbers as many as 200,000 ‘Falcons’ working in almost every type of professional field in Ohio and across the U.S. In the past academic year, the Career Design Coaching team have coordinated an impressive 34,000 virtual and in-person interactions between BGSU students and alumni.

The university enjoys an average graduate employment rate of 68.5 percent, with some departments registering as high as 91.5 percent. Approximately two thirds of all graduates find employment within the state of Ohio.

Additionally, 86 percent of BGSU graduates report being ‘pleased or very pleased’ with their overall experience at the university, and 98 percent report having post-graduation plans, highlighting the institution’s efficacy in producing work-ready graduates.

Notable alumni of the university include:

Anthony Doerr ’99 – New York Times best-selling author

Shantanu Narayen ’86, ’11 (Hon.) – President and CEO, Adobe Systems Inc.

Maryrose Sylvester ’87 – President and CEO, GE Lighting

Robert Latta ’78 – U.S. Congressional Representative

Timothy Ryan ’95 – U.S. Congressional Representative

What’s New

BGSU’s new AI + X degree, which combines Artificial Intelligence with another subject, is the first of its kind in the US. AI + X is an innovative, interdisciplinary degree that lets students personalize their education by combining artificial intelligence with a secondary disciplinary focus – the “X.”

The university picked up several top accolades in the 2024 Wall Street Journal rankings including:

Ranked as Ohio’s top public or private university for student experience (6th year in a row)

Rated No. 1 university in the Midwest and beyond, that students would choose again (6th year in a row)

Top spot in the Midwest for students who say they made the right choice in their college decision, for the fourth consecutive year (5th year in a row)

The new student experience category was powered by one of the largest-ever independent surveys of verified US college students and graduates.

BGSU also welcomes one of its largest ever freshman classes with first-time student enrolment up 7 percent at nearly 3,500 students, as well as a historically high retention rate of 80 percent for first year returning students.

BGSU has been selected as one of only eight institutions nationwide (and the only representative from the Midwest) to join the National Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Accelerator, led by Arizona State University in collaboration with JPMorgan Chase.

Building on BGSU’s No. 1 ranking in Ohio for career readiness and the work of the Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections, the initiative strengthens the link between academic learning and industry needs. Through partnerships with regional and national employers, students will take part in hands-on projects that build professional skills and networks, while promoting equitable access to career opportunities.

Strategic planning begins in Fall 2025, with pilot projects launching in Spring 2026 under a cross-university leadership team spanning corporate partnerships, academic affairs, IT, and career design.

Finances

How much will it cost?

Average tuition fees per year

16,87,398 Undergraduate Fees are for indicative purposes, check with institution for details

17,94,212 Postgraduate Fees are for indicative purposes, check with institution for details

Scholarships & funding

BGSU is a well-funded institution that understands the cost of embarking upon an undergraduate degree, along with moving city or even country to live and study in Ohio, can be a significant undertaking.

The university works hard to ensure fair access to its high-quality curriculum, and aims to ensure students from a diversity of backgrounds are able to study here, and be part of the BGSU community and culture while reducing the overall amount of student debt after graduation.

This is why BGSU offers an impressive program of scholarships, grants, and financial aid schemes which students are eligible on both merit-based and means-tested criteria.

More than 90 percent of all new BGSU students receive some form of financial assistance. This is often given in the form of a reduction on tuition fees, but can also be used to pay for accommodation, meals, books, transportation and other personal expenses.

There is a huge number of scholarships available at BGSU, and the best thing of all is that once a student is admitted, the university will automatically consider them for funding opportunities and will begin making scholarship offers based on their individual credentials.

BGSU also offers Falcon Tuition Guarantee, where students entering a specific cohort for a Fall semester start will not see increase of any tuition for their duration of the studies.

Eligibility

Entry requirements

BGSU offers a broad selection of academic programs across undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degree levels. As a result, entry requirements can vary significantly depending on the specific program chosen.

Prospective students are advised to check the university website for detailed admission criteria related to their chosen course of study, and to familiarize themselves with any important submission deadlines.

Undergraduate applications take place online, and typically include the submission of a student's prior educational records, such as high school transcripts. Some subjects may require additional submission materials, such as a cover letter, a small portfolio of work, and in some cases the attendance of a preliminary interview.

As BGSU courses are delivered in English, there is a minimum standard of English language proficiency which all non-native English speakers are required to demonstrate before being enrolled onto a program.

Department and Faculty

Teaching quality

Students at BGSU benefit from being taught by an academic faculty that has more than a century of educational heritage, and upholds a reputation for excellence which is regularly recognized by national publications and assessment systems.

Most recently, BGSU has been recognized by Times Higher Education and the Wall Street Journal for the high quality of its teaching, ranking No. 3 among all public universities in the country. These rankings have been designed to provide the best and most useful information to prospective students and their families, and defines quality of teaching by “how well it manages to inform, inspire and challenge students.”

More than 800 U.S. colleges and universities took part in the study, and the result places BGSU firmly within the top one percent of those analyzed. Students are taught by experienced staff, in relatively small class sizes, with an overall student-to-faculty ratio of 18:1.

The university excels in student satisfaction metrics and, on this basis, is ranked as the No. 1 public university in the Midwest.

Department structure

BGSU offers a wide range of more than 200 undergraduate majors and confers degrees, delivered by a highly qualified teaching faculty, and distributed across a variety of subject areas.

Bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees are delivered via the university’s eight departmental colleges, which form the basis of BGSU’s educational structure:

College of Arts and Sciences

Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business

College of Education and Human Development

Firelands College

College of Health and Human Services

College of Musical Arts

College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering

Graduate College

Each college has a distinct approach towards teaching while upholding BGSU’s overall approach toward research and tuition, and these departments work alongside each other to achieve the university’s research targets.

Since 1916, Bowling Green has been fully accredited by the North Central Association of the Higher Learning Commission and is also accredited to offer full degree programs online by the HLC.