“Ohio public university offering 200+ degrees with hands-on learning and internships.”
The University of Akron (UA) is a public research university in Akron, Ohio, founded in 1870 by the Ohio Universalist Convention and opened in 1872 as Buchtel College. The denominational affiliation ended in 1913 when the City of Akron took over the institution as the Municipal University of Akron; in 1967 it became a state university and joined the University System of Ohio. Today Akron enrolls roughly 15,000 students drawn from more than 70 countries across about 200 undergraduate majors and more than 100 graduate programs, with a signature research profile in polymer science, biomimicry, corrosion engineering, and the sciences historically linked to Akron's rubber-and-polymers industrial heritage. Akron's defining academic asset is the College of Engineering and Polymer Science (CEPS), which houses the world's first College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering — founded in 1988 and tracing coursework back to 1909 — widely ranked among the world's best. The College of Business is AACSB-accredited and its Online MBA placed among the top 2026 online programs in U.S. News rankings. Akron also operates Ohio's largest School of Law, a College of Nursing with strong regional clinical partnerships, and a College of Health and Human Sciences anchored in audiology, speech-language pathology, and social work. STEM-designated programs are extensive across engineering, computing, polymer science, and natural sciences, and the university publishes clear CPT/OPT guidance including the 24-month STEM OPT extension. Akron's 222-acre urban campus sits in downtown Akron — 40 miles south of Cleveland — and features the John S. Knight Center for the performing arts, the InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field for Division I athletics (Zips, Mid-American Conference), and the polymer engineering tower that is among Ohio's tallest academic buildings. With an 83% acceptance rate, a test-optional admissions policy, and an international annual tuition around $17,286 for bachelor's programs, Akron is affordable relative to peer research universities. The International Center provides DSO immigration advising, orientation, and employer information for current F-1 students, and offers one-on-one support through graduation and OPT/STEM OPT applications.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Research Activity
Carnegie Classifications (2021)
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceFall (International)
International undergraduate Fall application deadline; earlier submission recommended for I-20 processing.
Spring (International)
Published Spring international undergraduate deadline.
Fall Domestic
Priority consideration; rolling review after.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$13,135
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$20,815
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Home to the world's first College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering (founded 1988), plus chemical, civil, mechanical, electrical, computer, biomedical, and corrosion engineering. Most degrees are STEM-designated for the 24-month OPT extension.
AACSB-accredited business college with an online MBA ranked among the 2026 US News best online programs; specializations in finance, supply chain, and management information systems.
Ohio's largest School of Law, offering the JD and dual-degree programs with strong intellectual property and litigation programs rooted in Akron's polymer and corporate heritage.
Houses nursing (BSN, MSN, DNP), audiology, speech-language pathology, nutrition, social work, and exercise science — with clinical rotations across Northeast Ohio health systems.
The traditional liberal-arts core — biology, chemistry, mathematics, psychology, political science, and the humanities — and the foundation for Akron's pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, and pre-health pathways.
4 years
The world's only dedicated undergraduate polymer-science/polymer-engineering BS, housed in a 12-story glass tower on the western edge of campus; pathway to MS and PhD programs with industry partnerships at Goodyear, Bridgestone, and Sherwin-Williams.
4 years
One of only a handful of ABET-accredited undergraduate corrosion engineering programs in the U.S., STEM-designated and supported by Northeast Ohio's petrochemical and infrastructure industries.
4 years
STEM-designated BME program co-located with the Austen BioInnovation Institute and Akron Children's Hospital, giving undergraduates access to medical-device research from freshman year.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $20,815
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
