The university was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the largest university in the United States.Ohio State is currently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the best public university in Ohio, among the top 60 universities in the United States, and among the top 20 public universities in the United States. Ohio State has been officially designated as the flagship institution of the state's public system of higher education by the newly centralized University System of Ohio.
The Ohio State University is a world-class public research university and the leading comprehensive teaching and research institution in the state. Ohio State provides a distinctive educational experience for students and pursues cutting-edge interdisciplinary research that brings together scholars from diverse disciplines to solve key problems in society. One of the university’s core values is to “ignite a lifelong love of learning” in students. Ohio State students benefit from a scholarly environment in which research inspires and informs teaching.