Top UK Universities For Online Learning

There are plenty of top universities in the UK that offer postgraduate programs via online learning formats. Many online universities offer taster sessions or free courses through organisations such as the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) system or directly on their websites, so if you are inexperienced in online study you can find out what it is like before you apply. There are also some options to gain an MPH online, a distance learning Masters by Research or a PhD through online study.

UK universities are a great option for online postgraduate study – here is a selection of 10 of the best UK universities for online learning*.

University of Oxford

A small selection of postgraduate courses are offered via online learning, giving many students the chance to study at the prestigious University of Oxford. All the online PG courses at the University of Oxford are run by its Department for Continuing Education, and the masters courses concentrate on History, Archaeology, Urban Development, Medical Sciences and research degrees (MRes).

Find your PERFECT ONLINE POSTGRAD PROGRAM

University of Edinburgh

As a significant contributor to the MOOC system, the University of Edinburgh has a large number of postgraduate courses available for online learning. The University of Edinburgh offers a range of subject areas including a vast number of courses in Medical Sciences, Law, International Development, Veterinary Medicine, History and Cultural Studies.

Open University

The Open University is the original distance learning provider of university-level courses in the UK. There are large numbers of postgraduate masters programs available to study at the Open University including Education, Social Work, Philosophy, Music, Translation, Creative Writing and Environmental Management and research degrees.

University of Manchester

The University of Manchester has a long tradition of offering courses by distance learning and the institution offers a range of postgraduate courses that are either fully online or offered via blended learning. Topics available for postgraduate study include aspects of Engineering, Business Administration, Medical Sciences, Education, Law and Real Estate.

King's College London

King’s College London offers several fully online masters courses with six different entry points to the online courses throughout the year, making it a very flexible choice. The subject areas available for postgraduate study online include Global Finance and Banking, Law, International Affairs, Marketing, Public Health and Cyber Security.

University of Birmingham

Students from all over the world participate in online and distance learning postgraduate courses taught at the University of Birmingham. Postgraduate courses are available at masters level in a selection of subjects at the University of Birmingham including Energy and Environmental Law, International Business, Business Administration and Public Administration.

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow participates in the MOOCs program and the courses available at the postgraduate level are concentrated in the Medical Sciences. The University of Glasgow also offers masters level courses in topics such as Education, Creative Writing and Animal Nutrition.

University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield offers a good variety of both taught and research postgraduate degrees via online and distance learning. The taught postgraduate options at the University of Sheffield include topics such as Education, Library and Information Management, Mathematics, English and Engineering.

University of Nottingham

The University of Nottingham participates in the MOOCs system and it also offers current students and staff the opportunity to access free classes through its NOOCs (Nottingham Open Online Courses) system. Subject areas available for online postgraduate study include Law, Education, English, Linguistics, Theology, Church History and Brewing Science, along with substantial research degree options.

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds has a proud heritage of offering an excellent education in Engineering and their online postgraduate courses have a well-respected course in Engineering Project Management. In addition to this, the University of Leeds offers masters level courses in Healthcare Ethics, Deaf Education and Clinical Embryology.

Online learning UK universities

Online offerings from these UK universities

So just how many postgraduate courses do these top UK universities offer online? Let’s take a look.

University	Online Courses
University of Oxford	40 Taught Courses, 8 Research Options
University of Edinburgh	72 Taught Courses
Open University	29 Taught Masters Courses
University of Manchester	45 Taught Courses
King’s College London	8 Taught Courses
University of Birmingham	87 Taught Courses, 20 Research Options
University of Glasgow	28 Taught Courses, 1 Research Option
University of Sheffield	23 Taught Courses
University of Nottingham	226 Taught Courses, 150 Research Options
University of Leeds	8 Taught Courses