About

The Open Universiteit, which welcomed its first students in September 1984, is an independent government-funded institute for distance learning at university level. It makes higher education accessible to anyone with the necessary aptitudes and interests, regardless of formal qualifications. It offers Ba, Ma and PhD programmes. The primary language of instruction is Dutch. A few educational offerings can be taken in English.

Mission

The Open Universiteit in the Netherlands develops, provides and promotes innovative higher distance education of top quality, in collaboration with networks and alliances. As the prime university for lifelong learning, it addresses the wide-ranging learning needs of people during their course of life, plus the need to achieve a considerable increase of the knowledge level of the community at large.

We seek to be an institution that is strongly anchored in the Dutch higher education system through its educational, research and innovation activities, and that also operates successfully in the field of lifelong learning. We consider our institution to be a pioneer in open higher distance education and a leader in educational innovation, both in the Netherlands and internationally. In the market of lifelong learning, we wish to establish firm footing.

With a scope of activities that links up well with the needs of the community, we can count on broad interest, as reflected in the significant enrolment number for its educational offerings. We also offer a professional and result-oriented work climate that activates the competencies of its staff toward joint realization of objectives.