Open University Degree Accreditation in the United States.

I'm planning on studying Biochemistry with the OU this year. I'm curious as to whether OU degrees are accepted in the United States? Thanks!

Id imagine the DL industry is bigger in the US tbh WGU is a big online degree provider over there.


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By accepted I mean my degree being accepted by Employers

By accepted I mean my degree being accepted by Employers

Not sure. I have heard that American employers tend to think distance learning is less good. Are you an American seeking to do a distance learning degree, or are you anticipating a move to the States?

The Open University tried to start a US arm (USOU) around the turn of the millenium, but it failed pretty badly. One of the problems that it had was that it had only probationary accreditation, and didn't survive long enough for full accreditation.

American employers typically take foreign degrees at face value, but there may be some difficulty with the Open University. There's a large number (or at least large marketing footprint) of for-profit private universities in the US which give distance learning in general a bad name. Add to this that the words "Open University" conjur up images of open source MOOC learning, and a lazy HR manager will possibly dismiss it out of hand without investigating the OU first. This will likely impact whether or not you get an interview.

If you do get an interview, all the places I've worked over there do proper research on candidate credentials before accepting or dismissing candidates based on those credentials. At that point, any credible employer won't hold your application in any lower esteem than any other university graduate.

If you're definitely looking to move to the US, it may be an idea to look at an established public US university with a strong (and affordable) distance learning branch. Oregon State University or Utah State University, for example, have fair programs, depending on your desired major, and fair tuition for international students.

Thank you. I'll look into those programs!
I've had a look and it would seem that it would be a lot easier to study with the OU. I can't seem to find any strong Universities that provide an online degree in Biochem unfortunately. My best bet would be to do my bachelors and then do further studies with a brick university.

Can't you do a normal (brick university) degree before moving abroad?

I'm 25 and I don't have A levels. I think it would be difficult for me to do full time university without a job, unless I can get student accommodation possibly.

Lots of mature (21+) students go to university (and have access to student accommodation), and there are lots of routes into university for people without A levels. See here: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3401311

You can take out a maintenance loan to pay living costs, so you wouldn't need a job (alternatively, you could study at Birkbeck College in London which is an evening university, so you're free to work in the day).