History
In 1969 one ambition changed the world, giving anyone, anywhere the power to learn. Established by the Royal Charter (pdf 235kb) and globally recognised, The Open University has pioneered distance learning for over 50 years, delivering exceptional teaching and outstanding support to students across the UK and the world.
Education
Our qualifications range from certificates, diplomas and short courses to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
- Whatever you want to study, we’re sure to have the right course for you.
Research
- Choose the research degree area closest to your field of interest to find out about the department, its research priorities and philosophy, the research environment, and facilities available.
- Within each research area is a list of topics which tell you more about specific areas of research, current and prospective projects, entry requirements, available supervisors and contact details for advice.
Career
- An Open University qualification is attractive to employers.
- Employers know that many of our students study while working. Therefore, they’re aware that Open University study can be challenging, and that it requires you to develop a variety of valuable skills and qualities – all of which will be assets to any workplace.
- You’ll also be attractive to employers because, being an Open University graduate, you’ll stand out from the crowd of conventional campus-based university graduates.
Short Courses
- Short Course AI language technology in the workplace
- Short Course Advanced therapeutic relationships
- Short Course Advancing Social Psychology
- Short Course Approaches to Mental Health
- Short Course Athletic Development - A Psychological Perspective
- Short Course Beginners Chinese 1
- Certificate Beginners Chinese 2
- Certificate Beginners Chinese 3
- Short Course Beginners French 1 eh oui
- Certificate Beginners French 2
- Certificate Beginners French 3
- Short Course Beginners German 1 fang an
- Certificate Beginners German 2
- Certificate Beginners German 3
- Certificate Beginners Italian 1
- Certificate Beginners Italian 2
- Certificate Beginners Italian 3
- Certificate Beginners Spanish 1
- Certificate Beginners Spanish 2
- Certificate Beginners Spanish 3
- Short Course Beginners' Chinese
- Short Course Changing Geographies of the United Kingdom
- Short Course Children and Young People's Worlds
- Short Course Chinese Business Culture Essentials
- Short Course Communication and Information Technologies
- Short Course Communication skills for business and management
- Short Course Contemporary Issues in Organisations
- Short Course Crime and Global Justice
- Short Course Crime, harm and the state
- Short Course Critically exploring psychology 1
- Short Course Cultures
- Short Course Developing a coaching culture
- Certificate Discovering Wales and Welsh
- Short Course Doing Economics - People, Markets and Policy
- Short Course Economics in Practice
- Certificate Elementary Chinese 2
- Short Course Elementary Chinese 3
- Short Course Elementary French 1
- Certificate Elementary French 2
- Short Course Elementary French 3
- Short Course Elementary German 1 sprechen und verstehen
- Certificate Elementary German 2
- Certificate Elementary Italian 1
- Certificate Elementary Italian 2
- Short Course Elementary Italian 3
- Certificate Elementary Spanish 1
- Certificate Elementary Spanish 2
- Short Course Elementary Spanish 3
- Short Course Evaluating psychology - research and practice
- Short Course Exploring Childhood and Youth
- Short Course Exploring legal boundaries
- Short Course Exploring mental health and counselling
- Short Course Global development in practice
- Short Course Greek and Roman myth - stories and histories
- Short Course Introduction To Mental Health Science
- Short Course Introduction to criminology
- Short Course Investigating Forensic Psychology
- Short Course Investigating Psychology 1
- Short Course Issues In Research With Children And Young People
- Short Course Key Challenges In Global Development
- Short Course Law, Society And Culture
- Short Course Leadership And Management Of Public Services
- Short Course Leading, Managing, Caring
- Short Course Making Social Worlds
- Short Course Managing a budget
- Short Course Mental Health And Community
- Short Course Modern Political Ideas
- Short Course Online counselling - getting started
- Short Course Perspectives In Health And Social Care
- Short Course Principles Of Social And Psychological Inquiry
- Short Course Psychology Of Childhood And Youth
- Short Course Researching Everyday Geographies
- Short Course Researching Global Development
- Short Course Social Research - Crime, Justice And Society
- Short Course Sport and Exercise Psychology in Action
- Short Course The Role Of The Human Resource Professional
- Short Course The impact of storytelling in business
- Short Course The languages of crises
- Short Course The languages of crises
- Short Course Trauma-informed counselling
- Short Course Workplace Learning with Coaching and Mentoring
- Short Course You and Your Money
- Short Course Young Children's Play and Creativity
- Short Course Young Lives, Parenting and Families
- Short Course Advanced networking (CCNP Enterprise)
- Short Course An Introduction to Business and Management
- Short Course Analytical thinking for problem solving
- Short Course Beginners Chinese 1
- Short Course Business and Employment Law
- Short Course Business design for the digital world
- Short Course Chinese Business Culture Essentials
- Short Course Cisco networking (CCNA) part 2
- Short Course Communication skills for business and management
- Short Course Contemporary Issues in Organisations
- Short Course Creating and sustaining value
- Short Course Data Management
- Short Course Data management and analysis
- Short Course Developing a coaching culture
- Short Course Developing leadership
- Short Course Developing strategy to manage uncertainty
- Short Course Digital marketing content creation
- Short Course Doing Economics - People, Markets and Policy
- Short Course Economics in Practice
- Short Course Elementary Chinese 1
- Short Course Employment relations and employee engagement
- Short Course Entrepreneurship in Context
- Short Course Environmental Management 2
- Short Course Exploring innovation and entrepreneurship
- Short Course Finance for strategic decision-making
- Short Course Financial analysis and decision making
- Short Course Financial markets and the financing of organisations
- Short Course Global development in practice
- Short Course Human Resource Management in Context
- Short Course Innovation - Designing for Change
- Short Course Introducing Statistics
- Short Course Introduction to business and workplace coaching
- Short Course Introduction to digital marketing
- Short Course Investigating The Social World
- Short Course Leadership And Management Of Public Services
- Short Course Leadership In A Changing World
- Short Course Leading, Managing, Caring
- Short Course Making Strategy With Systems Thinking In Practice
- Short Course Management Accounting And International Finance
- Short Course Managing Change With Systems Thinking In Practice
- Short Course Managing in a Changing World
- Short Course Marketing in Action
- Short Course Project Management
- Short Course Search marketing
- Short Course Shaping Business Opportunities
- Short Course Social media marketing
- Short Course Strategic Capabilities for Technological Innovation
- Short Course Strategic Management
- Short Course Supply Chain Management
- Short Course Sustainable Creative Management
- Short Course Technology And Innovation Management
- Short Course The Role Of The Human Resource Professional
- Short Course The impact of storytelling in business
- Short Course Understanding Customers
- Short Course Understanding digital societies
- Short Course Understanding financial statements
- Short Course You and Your Money
- Short Course Advanced Creative Writing
- Short Course Art and Its Global Histories
- Short Course Beginners Chinese 1
- Short Course Beginners French 1 eh oui
- Short Course Beginners German 1 fang an
- Certificate Beginners Italian 1
- Certificate Beginners Italian 2
- Certificate Beginners Italian 3
- Short Course Creative Writing
- Short Course Discovering the Arts and Humanities
- Short Course Elementary Chinese 1
- Short Course Elementary French 1
- Short Course Elementary German 1 sprechen und verstehen
- Certificate Elementary Italian 1
- Certificate Elementary Italian 2
- Short Course Elementary Italian 3
- Short Course Empire: 1492-1975
- Short Course English for Academic Purposes Online
- Short Course English in the World
- Short Course English literature from Shakespeare to Austen
- Short Course Exploring the Classical World
- Short Course Greek and Roman myth - stories and histories
- Short Course Introducing English language studies
- Short Course Introducing the Social Sciences
- Short Course Key Questions in Philosophy
- Short Course Literature In Transition - From 1800 To The Present
- Short Course Reading And Studying Literature
- Short Course Revolutions
- Short Course Rundblick - beginners' German
- Short Course Telling Stories - The Novel And Beyond
- Short Course Art and Its Global Histories
- Short Course Beginners French 1 eh oui
- Short Course Beginners German 1 fang an
- Short Course Children and Young People's Worlds
- Short Course Continuing Professional Development in Practice
- Short Course Developing a coaching culture
- Short Course Developing subject knowledge for the primary years
- Short Course Elementary French 1
- Short Course Elementary German 1 sprechen und verstehen
- Short Course English for Academic Purposes Online
- Short Course English in the World
- Short Course English literature from Shakespeare to Austen
- Short Course Exploring Childhood and Youth
- Short Course Introduction to business and workplace coaching
- Short Course Investigating Psychology 1
- Short Course Investigative Approaches In Biology And Chemistry
- Short Course Issues In Research With Children And Young People
- Short Course Mathematical Thinking In Schools
- Short Course Psychology Of Childhood And Youth
- Short Course Researching Everyday Geographies
- Short Course Sport and Exercise Psychology in Action
- Short Course Workplace Learning with Coaching and Mentoring
- Short Course Business and Employment Law
- Short Course Civil Justice and Tort Law
- Short Course Contract Law
- Short Course Contract Law and Tort Law
- Short Course Crime and Global Justice
- Short Course Crime, harm and the state
- Short Course Criminal Law and the Courts
- Short Course European Union Law
- Short Course Evidence Law
- Short Course Exploring legal boundaries
- Short Course Exploring legal meaning
- Short Course Exploring the boundaries of international law
- Short Course Family Law
- Short Course Foundations of UK immigration law (OISC Level 1)
- Short Course International, Environmental And Space Law
- Short Course Introduction to criminology
- Short Course Investigating Forensic Psychology
- Short Course Law, Society And Culture
- Short Course Public Law
- Short Course Public Law And Criminal Law
- Short Course Social Research - Crime, Justice And Society
- Short Course Approaches to Mental Health
- Short Course Brain, Mind and Mental Health
- Short Course Contemporary Topics in Science
- Short Course Critical issues in health and wellbeing
- Short Course Critically exploring psychology 1
- Short Course Evaluating Contemporary Science
- Short Course Evaluating psychology - research and practice
- Short Course Exploring mental health and counselling
- Short Course Introducing Health And Social Care
- Short Course Introduction To Mental Health Science
- Short Course Investigating Health and Social Care
- Short Course Investigating Human Health And Disease
- Short Course Investigating Psychology 1
- Short Course Mental Health And Community
- Short Course Online counselling - getting started
- Short Course Perspectives In Health And Social Care
- Short Course Public Health - Health Promotion And Health Security
- Short Course Science And Health - An Evidence-based Approach
- Short Course Young Children's Play and Creativity
- Short Course Applied Statistical Modelling
- Short Course Approaches to Mental Health
- Short Course Astronomy
- Short Course Contemporary Topics in Science
- Short Course Earth Processes
- Short Course Evaluating Contemporary Science
- Short Course Finance for strategic decision-making
- Short Course Financial analysis and decision making
- Short Course International, Environmental And Space Law
- Short Course Introducing Statistics
- Short Course Introduction To Mental Health Science
- Short Course Investigating Human Health And Disease
- Short Course Investigative Approaches In Biology And Chemistry
- Short Course Mathematical Thinking In Schools
- Short Course Nanoscale Engineering
- Short Course Questions In Science
- Short Course Remote Experiments In Physics And Space
- Short Course Science And Health - An Evidence-based Approach
- Short Course Signals And Perception - The Science Of The Senses
- Short Course Space Science
- Short Course Core Engineering A
- Short Course Electronics - Sensing, Logic and Actuation
- Short Course Engineering - Frameworks, Analysis, Production
- Short Course Engineering - Origins, Methods, Context
- Short Course Engineering - frameworks, analysis, production
- Short Course Environment and Society
- Short Course Environmental Policy in an International Context
- Short Course Making Strategy With Systems Thinking In Practice
- Short Course Nanoscale Engineering
- Short Course Renewable Energy
- Short Course Strategic Capabilities for Technological Innovation
- Short Course Systems Security
- Short Course Team Engineering
- Short Course Technology And Innovation Management
- Short Course Technology in Practice
- Short Course Web, Mobile and Cloud Technologies
- Short Course AI language technology in the workplace
- Short Course Changing Geographies of the United Kingdom
- Short Course Cisco networking (CCNA) part 1
- Short Course Communication and Information Technologies
- Short Course Data Management
- Short Course Data management and analysis
- Short Course English for Academic Purposes Online
- Short Course Information Security
- Short Course Network Security
- Short Course Software Development
- Short Course Systems Security
- Short Course Web Technologies
- Short Course Web, Mobile and Cloud Technologies
- Short Course Earth Processes
- Short Course Earth Science
- Short Course Environment - Journeys through a Changing World
- Short Course Environment - Responding to Change
- Short Course Environment and Society
- Short Course Environmental Management 2
- Short Course Environmental Policy in an International Context
- Short Course Environmental Science
- Short Course Environmental Science Challenges
- Short Course International, Environmental And Space Law
- Short Course Making Environmental Decisions
- Short Course Sustainable Creative Management
- Short Course Terrestrial Ecosystems
- Short Course Understanding global development
- Short Course Family Law
- Short Course Introducing Health And Social Care
- Short Course Investigating Forensic Psychology
- Short Course Investigating Health and Social Care
- Short Course Investigating The Social World
- Short Course Making Social Worlds
- Short Course Understanding Customers
- Short Course Young Lives, Parenting and Families
- Advanced Diploma Art History and Visual Cultures
- Short Course Art and Its Global Histories
- Short Course Business design for the digital world
- Short Course Digital marketing content creation
- Short Course Innovation - Designing for Change
- Short Course Manufacture Materials Design
- Short Course Music, Sound And Technology
- Short Course Team Engineering
- Short Course Applying Sport and Exercise Sciences to Coaching
- Short Course Athletic Development - A Psychological Perspective
- Short Course Exploring contemporary issues in sport and exercise
- Short Course Introduction to Sport and Fitness
- Short Course Sport and Exercise Psychology in Action
- Short Course Workplace with People in Sport and Fitness
- Short Course Introduction to digital marketing
- Short Course Social media marketing
- Short Course The languages of crises
- Short Course Understanding Customers
University Ranking
Student services
The OU has offices throughout the UK where your student support teams are based.
et in touch with our student ambassadors who can tell you more about what you can expect from studying with The Open University
Housing services
The University doesn't own student housing, but can offer some help on finding private accommodation off campus.
Library services
OU Researchers and research students have access to a world class collection of online resources, a document delivery service, and guidance on skills development.
ICT services
Using a computer is a regular part of your OU study, so here's information on a range of computing topics.