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  • Education sub-menuEducation
    • OSUN Courses
    • Certificate Programs
    • Mobility
    • Threatened Scholars
      Initiative
    • Teaching
      • Birkbeck Summer School
      • Center for Liberal Arts and Sciences Pedagogy (CLASP)
      • Developing Teaching Professionals
      • Global History Lab
      • Global Teaching Fellowship Program
      • GLOBALED
      • Hannah Arendt Humanities Network
    • Curricula
      • CORUSUS
      • Economic Democracy Initiative
      • Economic Policy Addressing Inequality and Poverty
      • Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network
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      • Professional Development Program for University Administrators
      • Public Health and Human Rights
      • Strengthening the Core
      • Transnational Politics
      • Transnational Feminism, Solidarity, and Social Justice
  • Research sub-menuResearch

    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.

    • Research Projects
      • The Democracy Institute
      • Economic Democracy Initiative
      • Engaged Scholarship
      • GEOHUB
      • Global Institute of Advanced Study
      • Global Observatory on Academic Freedom
      • Interruptrr
      • Open Society Research Platform
      • Research Creation Initiative
      • Senior Projects
    • Fellowships
      • Chatham House Academy Fellowships
      • Global Scholars Academy
      • Modular Doctoral Program
  • Access sub-menuAccess

    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.

    • Teacher Education
      • Enhanced Network Teacher Education Capacity
      • Hubs for Connected Learning Initiatives
    • Education Pathways
      • Collaborative for Liberal Education for Adolescents
      • Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison
      • English Learner Success in Content Classrooms
      • Hubs for Connected Learning Initiatives
      • Microcollege for Just Community Leadership
      • OLIve
      • Roma Equity in Higher Education
      • The Socrates Project
  • 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.

    • Student Engagement
      • Global Commons
      • Global Debate Network
      • Global Engagement Fellows
      • Get Engaged Conference
      • Online Arts Workshop
      • Student-Led Initiatives
      • Student Life Initiatives Project (SLIP)
    • Engaged Learning
      • Certificate in Civic Engagement
      • Community Engaged Liberal Arts and Sciences
      • Engaged Scholarship
      • Engaged Senior Projects
      • OSUN Science Shop
      • Solve Climate by 2030
  • 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.

    • Newsroom
      • Current News         
      • News Archive
    • Events
      • Current Events
      • Events Archive
    • Opportunities
      • Current Opportunities
      • Student Opportunities
      • Faculty Opportunities
      • Opportunities Archive
  • 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.

    • OSUN Resources
      • Academic Technology Guides
      • Blended Learning Toolkit
  • About sub-menuAbout

    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.

    • About OSUN
      • Our Vision
      • Who We Are
      • What We Do
      • Member Institutions
      • Themes
      • Annual Report
  • Search
Students in a library
Register for OSUN Summer and Fall 2023 Courses
Students can now register for Summer and Fall 2023 courses, including OSUN Online Courses and Network Collaborative Courses! 

Register for Summer Online Courses
Register for Fall Online Courses
Amplifying the Voices of Engaged Researchers
A recent University World News article spotlights an OSUN/Talloires Network of Engaged Universities collaboration supporting an online global community of practice for engaged researchers who center the expertise of community collaborators in their work. Read more
Seeking Solutions and Changing Minds: Get Engaged 2022 Student Presenters Speak
From addressing child labor practices in West Africa and health gaps in Lebanon, to assisting stigmatized groups in Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan, the student projects presented at the Get Engaged 2022 Conference at AUCA in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on June 23-30 demonstrated a strong commitment to community engagement and to assisting underserved groups.⁠ Read more
Applications Open for OSUN Leadership Fellows
Students who hold leadership positions, or are interested in furthering their leadership skills, are invited to apply for the OSUN Leadership Fellows Program. Deadline to apply is Sunday, April 30.  Learn more and apply
Funding for Student-Created Civic Engagement Case Studies
OSUN's Visual Storytelling for Civic Engagement team is offering two funding opportunities to support student filmmakers in the creation of new video or written case studies. With the case studies, OSUN faculty provide active learning and meaningful opportunities to their students, making classes more visual and impactful. Read more
Global Engagement Fellows Annual Magazine Centers Student Catalysts
“Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow,” by Global Engagement Fellow Hala Alanani, explains how Al-Quds Bard College students created Investapeer Academy, an online peer tutoring platform that seeks to “make education a right rather than a luxury.” Read this and other inspiring stories in the Global Engagement Fellows Annual Magazine. Read more
Global Commons Fall 2022 Issue
The Fall 2022 issue of student-led digital publication Global Commons features 60 multimedia works from students at 18 partner institutions, including essays, articles, creative writing, video, and artwork. READ MORE
Young Leaders and the Future of Civic Engagement
OSUN's Spring 2023 Civic Engagement and Social Action Course sponsored a roundtable discussion with three young changemakers: David Hogg, co-founder, March for Our Lives; Sana Mustafa, CEO Asylum Access; and Korvi Rakshand, Founder and CEO, JAAGO Foundation. These young leaders have come through extreme circumstances to be agents of change. They advocate, inspire, and teach others about engagement and their voices are essential to social evolution.

Watch video of the discussion here
 
OSUN 2021/2022 Annual Report
During the 2021/2022 academic year, OSUN's highly adaptable and integrated partnership model allowed rapid responses to crises and challenges around the globe while expanding access to higher education and fostering civic engagement among its 45 member institutions. READ MORE

OSUN Events

  • 6/06
    Tuesday

    2023: A Year of Science Shop
    6:00 am – 7:00 am EDT/GMT-4 Online Event
  • 6/07
    Wednesday

    The Ethics of Big Data and GIS: The Taming of Big Brother?
    5:30 am – 7:00 am EDT/GMT-4 Online Event
  • 6/12
    Monday

    Elkana Symposium on Reimagining Teaching and Learning
    6:00 am – 11:00 am EDT/GMT-4 Online Event
  • 6/13
    Tuesday

    "(in)between worlds / entre mundos" 
    8:00 am – 2:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Online Event
View All Events

News + Announcements

Global Engagement Fellows Offer Weekly Well-being Advice
OSUN's Global Engagement Fellows' Weekly Well-being project aims to promote healthy living for students through sharing accessible and informative articles. The project recognizes the importance of maintaining good physical and mental health, providing practical tips and advice related to healthy daily habits, nutrition, mindfulness, exercise, and productivity.
Read More

View All OSUN News

Opportunities

  • Bridging Community to Classroom and Co-Curricular Experiences: Community Engagement & Experiential Learning Grants
    Deadline: June 15, 2023
  • Apply to be an OSUN Global Media Fellow for 2023/24
    Deadline: June 16, 2023
  • Nominations Open for Beth Rickey Award for Action Against Hate
    Deadline: July 1, 2023
  • Global Engagement Fellows Monthly Civic Engagement Workshops
  • "Thinking Outside of the Box": OSUN Student Leadership Virtual Conference
    Deadline: July 10, 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.
Visual Storytelling

Visual Storytelling

The Visual Storytelling for Civic Engagement team supports students with tools for producing compelling documentary films on global issues. Click through to learn about an online Case Study Symposium, in-person film festivals, and case study funding opportunities during Spring 2023.
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. 
Our Members

Our Members

A Global Partnership of educational institutions.

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)
    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)
    Princeton Global History Lab (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
For more information contact: 
[email protected]