58 Short courses offered by the university

The Chinese Business Culture Essentials short course from the The Open University UK equips you with insight, skills and knowledge to succeed when working with Chinese culture in a business context. Using stories and reflections from Westerners who have lived and worked in China, the course will help you navigate key cultural differences. 

Building on the learning from Elementary French 2: en avant! (LGXF005), The Open University UK's Elementary French 3 16-unit short course will increase your language knowledge, providing you with reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in French.

Over 16 units, The Open University UK's Elementary Spanish 3 online short course takes you further on your journey towards learning Spanish – one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. You’ll tackle new topics such as talking about special days and events, discussing historical events, and describing people, houses, and actions in the past tense. 

Have you always loved the sound and musicality of the Italian language? Are you fascinated by Italian culture and lifestyle, its cuisine, historic cities, art and beautiful landscapes? Then the Beginners Italian 1 course at The Open University UK is perfect for you.

This multi-award-winning OU level 1 Communication skills for business and management module from The Open University UK will develop your language and skills for communicating effectively in the world of business and management.

This Introduction to criminology module from The Open University UK is an ideal introduction to one of the key areas of social sciences as it offers you an informed understanding of how criminal law is applied and its connection to social order/disorder, as well as criminal justice.

This Researching Everyday Geographies module at The Open University UK  equips you with the tools required to undertake an extended piece of independent research on how geographical relations shape a dimension of your everyday life.

This Exploring mental health and counselling module from The Open University UK locates counselling within the broader field of mental health and provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the often controversial debates around mental health/illness and the main theories and practices in counselling. 

This Critically exploring psychology 1 module from The Open University UK introduces you to some of the core theories, debates and research methods in contemporary psychology. 

This Beginners Spanish 1 course at The Open University UK offers you an excellent start to your learning journey. Starting with simple greetings and saying your name, you’ll progress unit by unit towards being able to hold longer conversations and to understand more language in different situations. 

This Beginners Spanish 2 course at The Open University UK lets you continue your Spanish learning from courses such as Beginners Spanish 1: ¡Empezamos! or other study and move onward with your language-learning journey. 

Over 16 units, this online Elementary Spanish 2 course at The Open University UK takes you further on your journey towards learning Spanish – one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. 

The Open University UK's Online counselling - getting started course has been designed to align to the BACP Online and Phone Therapy competency framework and relevant SCOPeD competencies. It has been developed with the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB).

The Open University UK's Elementary Chinese 3 16-unit online course takes you further on your journey towards learning Chinese, one of the world’s most exciting languages. As the final module in our elementary level course it builds on your language development including giving advice and expressing a formal apology, and using conditional sentences.

This Introduction To Mental Health Science module at The Open University UK introduces the key topics in mental health science from biological, psychological and social science perspectives whilst developing your postgraduate study skills.

This key introductory Beginners' Chinese module at The Open University UK will take you through a wide range of practical situations such as socialising, shopping and getting around.

What influences children’s development? How is childhood changing? How important are society and culture in understanding this change? This Introduction to Childhood Studies and Child Psychology course from The Open University UK offers a fascinating insight into the lives of children and young people. 

This Beginners German 3 course at The Open University UK further continues your journey to Germany, Austria and Switzerland and progresses your skills to understand and use the German language in everyday situations and while travelling. 

This Global development in practice module from The Open University UK is presented on the innovative FutureLearn platform with full tutor support, including opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous interaction.

If you work in a context which makes considerable use of social or psychological research or are fascinated by social research then this Principles Of Social And Psychological Inquiry module at The Open University UK , taught entirely online, equips you with the knowledge, skills and confidence to appraise research and communicate your assessment to academic and non-academic audiences.