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    OSUN promotes collaboration across its partner institutions, including the codesign of research projects, to explore issues of global and local relevance through socially engaged research, interdisciplinary collaboration, or comparative research.

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    OSUN expands access to higher education by creating new pathways for underserved communities. Academic integration and connected learning bring educational opportunities to students beyond OSUN’s brick-and-mortar campuses.

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  • Civic sub-menuCivic Engagement

    With a belief in the public purpose of higher education, civic engagement across OSUN promotes best practices and bold new initiatives to help students, faculty, and institutions realize their full potential as community actors and educators.

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  • News sub-menuNews + Opportunities

    OSUN offers myriad opportunities and events to undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and scholars, and faculty. News and features provide updates on project impacts and the people involved.

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    Student Fellows and Ambassadors Newsletter
  • Resources sub-menuResources

    OSUN faculty and institutions have worked collectively to assemble this dynamic collection of student-centered teaching methodologies and instructional strategies. Whether working online, in person, or in a blended context, establishing a clear and consistent communication plan with students is central to all of these practices.

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    OSUN aims to educate students for tomorrow’s global challenges, fostering critical thinking and open intellectual inquiry to strengthen the foundations of open society amid the current authoritarian resurgence.

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Students in a library
Register for OSUN Spring 2024 Courses
Students can now register for Spring 2024 courses, including OSUN Online Courses and Network Collaborative Courses! 

Deadline for Online Courses: December 15
Register for spring Online Courses
Learn about Network Collaborative Courses
People in a classroom
Applications Open for Six OSUN Certificate Programs
Applications are now open for undergraduate students to apply for OSUN Academic Certificate programs in Civic Engagement, Global Educational Development, Public Policy and Economic Analysis, Human Rights, Sustainability and Social Enterprise, and Food Studies. 

Deadline: Sunday, December 30

Learn more and apply
People at AltLiberalArts gathering holding signs "I stand with CEU"
AltLiberalArts Lectures on Academic Freedom
AltLiberalArts offers a dynamic platform for lectures, courses, and seminars, focused on addressing recent threats to intellectual autonomy in public schools and higher education. Learn more
Learn more about OSUN joining Open Education Network
Equity Through Open Educational Resources: OSUN Joins Open Education Network to Advance the Use of Open Materials
In an effort to commit to equity through open educational resources (OER), OSUN recently joined the Open Education Network, a supportive community of over 300 global members advancing the use of OER and related practices to empower faculty, remove barriers to education, and enhance student success. Read more
Felix Kaputu
Threatened Scholars: Political Exile Felix Kaputu Connects with Communities on Campus and Across the Globe
This is the final installment in a series of profiles of fellows participating in OSUN’s innovative Threatened Scholars Integration Initiative, which supports writers, researchers, teachers, and intellectuals who have fled authoritarian governments in their home countries.  Read more
Student-Produced Videos
Watch videos produced by students across OSUN for the Visual Storytelling for Civic Engagement course that address critical themes such as climate change, migration, political freedom, and more.  Learn more
Group of students at Get Engaged conference 2023
Student Fellows and Ambassadors
Meet OSUN student fellows and ambassadors and explore their impactful initiatives, from crafting compelling student publications to honing leadership skills and fostering active student involvement. Learn more

OSUN Events

  • 11/28
    Tuesday

    Liberal Education in Illiberal Contexts: Student Perspectives from Afghanistan and Myanmar
    8:30 am – 10:00 am EST/GMT-5 Online Event
  • 11/28
    Tuesday

    Ad-Hoc Governance and Education: The Case of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
    9:00 am – 10:00 am EST/GMT-5
  • 11/30
    Thursday

    The Politics of Knowledge Production and the Russo-Ukrainian War
    Online Event
  • 12/06
    Wednesday

    Perpetual Peace or Perpetual War? Mary Kaldor on "The Social Shaping of World Order"
    7:30 am – 9:00 am EST/GMT-5 Online Event
View All Events

News + Announcements

Threatened Scholars: Political Exile Felix Kaputu Connects with Communities Locally and Globally
Felix Kaputu, formerly a professor at Lubumbashi University in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), faced 30 years in prison or a possible death sentence after being wrongly accused of plotting against the DRC government. He is now an OSUN TSI scholar teaching at Bard College Simon’s Rock in the US, where he networks with students, scholars, and organizers on his campus and worldwide.
Read More

View All OSUN News

Opportunities

  • Call for Papers: "City/Energy Relations in Transformation"
    Deadline: December 14, 2023
  • Witnessing through Literature and the Arts: A Transdisciplinary Symposium 
    Deadline: December 31, 2023
  • Call for Applications: Spring/Summer 2024 Graduate Research Mobility Funding
    Deadline: February 11, 2024
  • Register for Spring 2024 OSUN Online Courses
    Deadline: December 15, 2023
  • Call for Grant Proposals: Faculty Development for Network Collaborative Courses
    Deadline: December 8, 2023
View All Opportunities

A New model of global higher education



Access

Access

OSUN expands access to higher education by creating new pathways for underserved communities. Academic integration and connected learning bring educational opportunities to students beyond OSUN’s brick-and-mortar campuses.
OSUN Courses

OSUN Courses

OSUN offers two kinds of courses to students within the network: Online Courses and Network Collaborative Courses. Click here to learn more about it. 
 
Academic Technology

Academic Technology

How-to-videos and PDF guides walk students through OSUN Academic Technology tools like Panopto, Perusall, Padlet, Zoom, and more.
Mobility

Mobility

Students, faculty, and administrators can travel throughout the network to grow and maintain in-person relationships.
Student-Produced Videos

Student-Produced Videos

Videos created by students enrolled in the Visual Storytelling for Civic Engagement course.
Civic Engagement

Civic Engagement

Ideas and actions of engagement are embedded into all aspects of higher education to prepare students to emerge from university as engaged citizens.
Certificate Programs

Certificate Programs

Academic certificate programs integrate curriculums, sequence coursework, and allow non-degree students, such as refugee and displaced learners, to obtain credits and a transferable micro-credential. 
Student Fellows 

Student Fellows 

OSUN student fellows and ambassadors engage in a variety of network-based projects that build their skills and prepare them to lead on a global level.

About OSUN

The Network

The Open Society University Network (OSUN) is a global partnership of educational institutions that integrates learning and the advancement of knowledge--in the social sciences, the humanities, the sciences and the arts, on undergraduate and graduate levels--across geographic and demographic boundaries, promotes civic engagement on behalf of open societies, and expands access to higher education for underserved communities.

Member Institutions
  • University of California, Berkeley Human Rights Center (United States)
  • Arizona State University (United States)
  • Bard Early Colleges: New Orleans (United States)
  • Bard Early Colleges: Cleveland (United States)
  • Tuskegee University (United States)
  • Bard Early Colleges: Hudson Valley (United States)
  • Bard Prison Initiative (United States)
  • Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs (United States)
  • Picker Center for Executive Education, Columbia University (United States)
  • Institute for New Economic Thinking (United States and United Kingdom)
  • Bard Early Colleges: Manhattan (United States)
  • Bard Early Colleges: Queens (United States)
  • Bard Early Colleges: Newark (United States)
  • University of Connecticut Human Rights Institute (United States)
  • Bard College at Simon’s Rock: The Early College (United States)
  • Princeton Global History Lab (United States)
  • The Talloires Network of Engaged Universities (United States)
  • The Afghanistan Project at the Center for Governance and Markets, University of Pittsburgh (United States)
  • Bard Early Colleges: Baltimore (United States)
  • Bard Early Colleges: Washington D.C. (United States)
  • Haitian Education and Leadership Program (Haiti)
  • University of the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica)
  • Universidad de los Andes (Colombia)
  • Birkbeck, University of London (United Kingdom)
  • London School of Economics (United Kingdom)
  • SOAS University of London (United Kingdom)
  • Black Mountains College (United Kingdom)
  • Chatham House (United Kingdom)
  • Institute for New Economic Thinking (United States and United Kingdom)
  • Sciences Po in Paris (France)
  • European University Institute (Florence)
  • Bocconi University (Italy)
  • Bard College Berlin (Germany)
  • Hertie School (Berlin)
  • Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva)
  • Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (Austria)
  • European Humanities University (Lithuania)
  • Kyiv School of Economics (Ukraine)
  • Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
  • American University in Bulgaria
  • National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (Romania)
  • Ashesi University (Ghana)
  • University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)
  • Rift Valley Institute (Kenya)
  • Al-Quds University / Al-Quds Bard College of Arts and Sciences (Palestine)
  • American University of Beirut (Lebanon)
  • American University of Afghanistan (Afghanistan)
  • American University of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan)
  • BRAC University (Bangladesh)
  • Parami University (Myanmar)
  • National Sun Yat-sen University (Taiwan)

Founding Institutions

Bard College
New York, U.S.
Central European University
Vienna, Austria

Members

  • Colleges and Universities
    Al-Quds University/Al-Quds Bard College of Arts and Sciences (Palestine)
    American University of Afghanistan (Afghanistan)
    American University of Beirut (Lebanon)
    American University in Bulgaria
    American University of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan)
    Arizona State University (United States)
    Ashesi University (Ghana)
    Bard College at Simon’s Rock: The Early College (United States)
    Bard College Berlin (Germany)
    Bard Early Colleges (United States)
    Birkbeck: University of London (United Kingdom)
    Bocconi University (Italy)
    BRAC University (Bangladesh)
    European Humanities University (Lithuania)
    European University Institute (Italy)
    Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland)
    Hertie School (Germany)
    Kyiv School of Economics (Ukraine)
    London School of Economics (United Kingdom)
    National Sun Yat-sen University (Taiwan)
    National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (Romania)
    Parami University (Myanmar)
    Sciences Po in Paris (France)
    SOAS University of London (United Kingdom)
    Tuskegee University (United States)
    Universidad de los Andes (Colombia)
    University of the West Indies (Jamaica)
    University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)
  • Research and Educational Institutions
    Bard Prison Initiative (United States)
    Black Mountains College (United Kingdom)
    Cambridge Global History Lab (United Kingdom)
    Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs (United States)
    Chatham House (United Kingdom)
    Haitian Education and Leadership Program (Haiti)
    Institute for New Economic Thinking (United States and United Kingdom)
    Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade (Serbia)
    Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (Austria)
    Picker Center for Executive Education, Columbia University (United States)
    Rift Valley Institute (Kenya)
    The Afghanistan Project at the Center for Governance and Markets, University of Pittsburgh (United States)
    The Talloires Network of Engaged Universities (United States)
    University of California, Berkeley Human Rights Center (United States)
    University of Connecticut Human Rights Institute (United States)

Philanthropic Partner

Open Society Foundations

OSUN builds on the accomplishments of several major initiatives in higher education supported by the Open Society Foundations (OSF). In the 1990s, OSF’s Higher Education Support Program (HESP) effectively served as a Marshall Plan for higher education in Central and Eastern Europe. CEU, founded in 1991, became a unique model in graduate education, combining cutting-edge research and research-based teaching with a focused social mission.

Philanthropic Partner

For almost 30 years, OSF has supported innovative cooperation between CEU and Bard College, and between their respective national and international networks. During this period, OSF has contributed to the development of groundbreaking higher education institutions, first in Central and Eastern Europe, and then globally. OSF also supported a program of fellowships in higher education that has intellectually empowered tens of thousands of students and educators throughout the world.

The Open Society Foundations (OSF) is an international grant-making network that supports civil society groups around the world, with the aim of advancing justice, education, public health and independent media. Since its inception, in 1993, it has contributed:
  • $15.2 billion in total expenditures
  • 50,000+ grants to organizations, scholars, and activists in 120+ countries
Although originally focused in the 1990s on Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, South Africa, and Myanmar, OSF has since expanded its network to Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, and had a budget of $1.1 billion in 2019.

OSF’s Higher Education Support Program initiated a massive undertaking to reform research and teaching in the social sciences and humanities at universities across Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia in the 1990s. It has since expanded this program to over 50 colleges and universities around the world, with the aim of promoting academic freedom, university autonomy, equal and open access to knowledge and education, student-centered learning, service to the community, and transparent, inclusive governance. This program has yielded significant advances, including:
  • The creation of beachheads of intellectual freedom and critical enquiry at some of its core grantee institutions, such as the American University of Central Asia and American University in Bulgaria.
  • Improvements in the quality of the liberal arts curriculum and pedagogy at the American University of Central Asia, European Humanities University, Al-Quds Bard College, and St. Petersburg University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts, in partnership with Bard.
  • The introduction of innovative models of access to higher education in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya.
  • The establishment of independent external testing system for admissions at Ukrainian universities, which have combat the paying of bribes for student places.
As part of its efforts to expand access to higher education and empowered educators around the world, OSF has provided close to 20,000 scholarships and research grants since the 1980s - with awards in 42 countries, ranging from Haiti to Angola, Eritrea, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Cambodia.

OSF has also demonstrated its deep commitment to academic freedom through its early and long-standing support for scholars who are threatened or imprisoned because of their work. It was a founding contributor to the Scholar Rescue Fund and is a leading supporter of the Scholars at Risk network.

Open Society University Network
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