The concept of the Arab Open University (AOU) has been promoted as a personal initiative by HRH Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, President of the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND). In 1996, the project was initiated following a feasibility study and a subsequent standing collaboration with the United Kingdom Open University (UKOU), accordingly AOU was established under the umbrella of the AGFUND. It has, since then, been adopted, in principle, as a private Arab institution of higher education with a special status.

The AOU aims to establish itself as a leading institution of open learning offering opportunities for a new method of study and creating a forum of lifelong learning. The AOU relies on an open system of education the main paradigm of which lies in its flexibility to accommodate a wide base of Higher Education seekers thereby offering educational opportunities to all qualified applicants in accordance with student need and ability.

The AOU currently offers the following programs of study:

• B.S. in Information Technology and Computing
• B.A in Business Administration / Economics
• B.A in Business Administration/ systems
• B.A in English Language and Literature



• B.A in Elementary Education (Given in Arabic)
• Teaching Diploma (Given in Arabic)