Ohio University (officially The Ohio University and often referred to and stylized as OHIO) is a public research university in Athens, Ohio.[7] The first university chartered by an Act of Congress[8] and the first to be chartered in Ohio,[9] it was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subsequently approved for the territory in 1802 and state in 1804,[10] opening for students in 1809.[11] Ohio University is the oldest university in Ohio, the tenth oldest public university in the United States and the 32nd oldest among public and private universities.[12] As of fall 2020, the university’s total enrollment at Athens was slightly more than 18,000, while the all-campus enrollment was just over 28,000.[13]
Ohio University offers more than 250 areas of undergraduate study[14] as well as master’s and doctoral degrees.[15] Undergraduate admissions are selective with further admission requirements for its journalism and other select schools.[16][17] The Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine maintains separate select admissions criteria and is the most selective college at the university. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission[18] and classified among “R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity”.[19] Since 2008, 16 students have won the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship,[20] 32 students have won the NSF-GRFP[21] and 94 students have become Fulbright Program U.S. grantees and one Alumnus has shared the Nobel Prize.[22]
Ohio’s athletic teams are called the Bobcats and compete in the US top collegiate levels, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as charter members of the Mid-American Conference.[23] Ohio football has participated in 13 bowl games through the 2019 season, and in 2021, the team broke the NCAA All time Div 1 record in a 99-yard QB Touchdown run in a game against MAC foe, Buffalo.[24] The men’s basketball team has made 14 appearances in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, with their most recent appearance coming in 2021