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Step into your future with a world leader in flexible learning. The Open University is recognised as one of the top universities for teaching excellence and employability.
Discover why we’re the most popular choice for undergraduates in the UK, with career-boosting courses and dedicated support.
Rated gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework
The OU is 1 of only 34 universities to achieve overall Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework 2023. Awarded for four years, it’s a trusted mark of quality for outstanding student outcomes and experience.
University of the year for teaching excellence
Our students receive exceptional teaching from subject experts and support at every step. It’s why we’re proud to be named University of the Year 2025 for Teaching Excellence (Daily Mail University Guide).
Top 3 in the UK for employability (Uni Compare 2026)
The OU is highly rated as a Top 3 University for Employability 2025 (University Compare), with award-winning careers support available to help our students achieve their goals.
Top 6 in the UK for course quality
The OU is ranked as a top 6 university for course quality (University Compare), with students praising the OU’s expert course content and support.
Three-time winners of the Queen's Anniversary Prize
We’re three-time winners of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize – the highest national Honour in higher education. Most recently for our OpenSTEM Labs, where students can conduct real-world experiments from home.
Rated top 20 for student satisfaction in England
Quality courses, happy students. The OU is rated 15th in England for overall positivity in student satisfaction (based on National Student Survey 2025 analysis by Times Higher Education).
Ranked in the top third of UK universities for research excellence
The OU is in the top third of UK universities for research excellence with 82% of our research assessed as world-leading in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 (Based on REF Times Higher Education Power Rankings).
Triple accredited Business School (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS)
The OU is proud to be part of an elite group of just 1% of business schools worldwide that are triple-accredited.
We’ll help you prepare for your next career move from the moment you start studying. Access the OU’s award-winning careers support:
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An OU degree is just as rigorous and respected as one from a campus-based university. What’s different is that our students can learn from anywhere. No set timetables or need to travel to campus. Just a high-quality university education you can fit around your busy life.
Don’t worry if you don’t see us listed near the top of University League Tables or rankings. It’s because most rankings are set up to measure campus-based universities, assessing things like campus facilities, ratio of staff and the entry grades of students.
We’re proud to do things a little differently, offering flexible online learning and welcoming students from all backgrounds. We’re also proud that for the areas where we can be properly assessed – like the quality of our teaching and research, as well as how we support our students – we score consistently highly and stand among some of the leading universities in the UK.
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