Ohio University was the first public institution of higher learning in the Northwest Territory, and is now the oldest in the state of Ohio. Founded in 1804, Ohio University has a history of academic quality and value, and has been listed in various publications (such as U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review's Best Colleges, and Peterson's Guide to Competitive Colleges) in recognition of those attributes. Ohio University has also been recognized by the John Templeton Foundation as one of the top character-building institutions in the United States.

The university has five campuses spread throughout the southeast region of Ohio in addition to its main Athens campus. With 16,761 undergraduate students on the main campus alone, Ohio University still boasts a student to faculty ratio of 17:1, and an average class size of 25 students. Ohio University also has an impressive freshman to sophomore year retention rate of 81 percent and is host to 1,050 students from all over the world.