History

In the belief that the opportunity for an excellent college education should be open to all Israelis, including individuals from Israel’s geographic and socio-economic periphery, Deputy Prime Minister Yigal Alon and Baroness Dorothy de Rothschild founded The Open University of Israel (OUI) in 1974. It has been a remarkable success.

Since then, more than 50,000 students have graduated. Today, over 53,000 students are currently enrolled – more than at any other university or college in Israel. The OUI offers more than 700 accredited courses through its sophisticated distance learning technology, supplemented by its more than 70 Study Centers spread throughout Israel. The OUI is 1 of 10 universities recognized by the Israel Council for Higher Education, and is the only university where soldiers and officers on active duty are permitted by the IDF to pursue their academic aspirations while they serve. Its flexible – yet rigorous – structure allows those who must work to support themselves and their families the freedom to pursue the advancement that only higher education can bring

Through its generous scholarships, the OUI opens its virtual doors to all – IDF soldiers, the ultra-Orthodox, underprivileged students from the periphery and development towns, gifted high school students, Arabs, Bedouins, Ethiopian origin students, Circassians, and Druze.