Studying at the OU is different to studying at school or other colleges and universities. One key difference is that you do it at a distance and independently of anyone telling you what to do.

This means you have to think more about: 

• planning your own time, resources, and activity 
• engaging with people (your tutor or other students) in different ways - online and at a distance
• understanding your own learning and the different ways you prefer to learn

These are highly sought-after skills by employers because they are a foundation to life-long learning and keeping your skills and competencies up to date in any setting.

Being an OU student is a pretty unique experience and, even though it can be challenging, there is always lots of support.

OU Design students value their study because of what it has given them personally. Even with hundreds of students, we still treat you as an individual learner and an individual designer. 

Listen to some of our design students talking about their experiences of studying design at the OU.

Another way to find out if design is the right subject for you is to look at past student work and the types of projects you will work on. 

Take a look at past OU student work from the OU Design Students' Annual Show. 

General information on being an OU student, fees and funding, credit transfer and more. 

When you're ready to begin you design journey:

More on our Bachelor of Design (Honours)

Explore our other design degrees, funding, and OU study.