The Hellenic Open University was founded in 1992 in Patras and is the only distance learning university in Greece. Modelled on the British Open University, the Hellenic Open University was established to fill a gap for open and distance education in the higher education system of the Hellenic Republic in response to the growing demand for continuing education and lifelong learning.
Academic profile
Structure
HOU is organised in four schools:
- School of Humanities
- School of Social Science
- School of Science and Technology
- School of Applied arts
The School of Applied Arts offers only postgraduate degrees, while the other three schools offer both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
Undergraduate programs
The university comprises four schools, namely a School of Humanities, a School of Social Science, a School of Science and Technology and a School of Applied Arts. Degrees include studies in European Civilization, studies in Greek Civilization, Spanish Language and Civilization, Natural Sciences, Computer Science and Business Administration.
Postgraduate programs
Postgraduate degrees are also offered in various subjects such as Master in Education, Adult education, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Teaching German as a Foreign Language, Teaching French as a Foreign Language, MSc in Quality Assurance, Public History, Language Education for Refugees and Migrants, Environmental Design of Cities and Buildings, Environmental Design of Infrastructure, Tourist Business Administration, Health Care Administration, Health National System Services Administration, Banking, Orthodox Theology, Graphic Arts – Multimedia, Waste Management, Construction Management, earthquake engineering and Seismic Resistant Structures, Advanced Studies in Physics, Catalysis and Environmental Protection, MSc in Mathematics, MSc in Information Systems, MSc in Natural Sciences for Educators, Administration of Cultural Units, Master in Business Administration and MSc in Engineering of Pervasive Computing Systems.
The university offers joint postgraduate degrees in co-operation with the University of Nicosia, the Open University of Cyprus, and the Wrocław University of Economics.
Research
Research is conducted in all four schools of the Hellenic Open University by faculty members and is supported by postdoctoral researchers and doctoral students.
- School of Humanities: National Conference on Open and Distance Education.
- School of Social Sciences.
- School of Science and Technology: Research is conducted in various fields of Science and Engineering (Physics Laboratory, Biology Laboratory, Chemistry Laboratory, Digital Systems and Media Computing Laboratory, Software Quality Research Laboratory, Converged Networks and Services Research Group (CONES), HELYCON Distributed Cosmic Rays Telescope).
- School of Applied Arts.
The HOU has built a network of co-operation with other academic and research institutes: Open University of Cyprus, Harokopio University, Panteion University, University of Western Macedonia, University of Thessaly, European University Cyprus, University of Nicosia, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the National Hellenic Research Foundation.