The Open University in Scotland

No. The Open University in Scotland is not a Russell Group member. In Scotland, only Edinburgh and Glasgow are in the Russell Group. However, non-Russell-Group Scottish universities — including St Andrews (consistently top 5 in the UK), Strathclyde (one of the UK's top engineering schools) and others — are widely respected. Russell Group membership is not a reliable quality indicator on its own.

If you're a Scotland-domiciled undergraduate studying at The Open University in Scotland, SAAS pays the tuition fee (£1,820 per year) directly to the university — you pay nothing. The SAAS institution code for OU Scotland is O64. Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland pay a different fee set by the university. International students pay a higher fee again. Apply for SAAS at saas.gov.uk before the recommended deadline of 30 June.

The Open University in Scotland's strongest subject areas include Distance Learning, Part-time Study, Business, Health & Social Care. These are the departments most commonly cited in league tables and by employers. OU Scotland also has strong graduate employment in these areas — check the university's own graduate outcomes data for the most current figures.

The Open University in Scotland is a specialist institution with a focused academic offer rather than the broad faculty structure of a traditional university.