Status: Current
The Open University was launched in the UK in 1969 by the British government, to make higher education more accessible. All its courses are designed to be studied part-time to fit around employment and family commitments.
The Open University covers the spectrum of higher education from undergraduate to PhD level, and also offers Continuing Professional Development courses.
The Open University's headquarters are in the UK. However it is possible to study certain OU courses in Africa, either online or through one of the OU's educational partners. You can find out what courses are directly available in your country here.
The Open University engages in a range of international commercial partnerships through Open University Worldwide, who also sell OU materials, including OU TV programmes made in partnership with the BBC.
Worldwide programmes
Global Development Management is a postgraduate programme designed for development professionals and those aspiring to work in development, whether in governmental, multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental organisations or the private sector.
It can be studied in Africa through the Development Management Worldwide scheme, that enables people sponsored by international development organisations based in countries within the UK and Europe to study elsewhere in the world. It also enables nominated staff of the partner organisations of international development organisations in developing countries to study towards qualifications in the programme.
The OU's Online and Distance Education postgraduate programme is available online in Africa for professionals such as lecturers, teachers, trainers, educational technologists, media specialists, learning systems managers and librarians, who want to understand more about open, online, distance, distributed and flexible learning.
It has been designed to meet the academic and professional needs of practitioners (and intending practitioners) in a variety of areas such as education, health care, voluntary organisations and the public and private sector.
The Open University's management programmes are available for study across Africa. These include the Masters in Business Administration, the Professional Certificate in Management and the Professional Diploma in Management.
The BA Business Studies can be studied in several countries in Africa via The Open University's partner eDegree
