Queen's University Open Learning

24/09/2026

We had a fantastic day at the Student Union Freshers' Fair, meeting new students, welcoming them to Belfast, and encouraging them to explore our courses. Enrolments for Autumn are closing very soon so if you haven't already, enrol now via qub.ac.uk/ol

07/09/2026

This year, to mark 175 years of the tradition of Open Learning at Queen's University Belfast we are pleased to offer a new course 'What Queen's Has Given the World'. Fees paid towards this course will fund bursary places on future Open Learning Courses so that more people can continue their education with us.

Enthusiastic lecturers and professors from disciplines ranging from Anthropology and Chemical Engineering through to Spanish and Sports Medicine will make this course an enjoyable celebration of the University as a vibrant institution that exists to serve the public good. Enrol now!

School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen's University Queen's Careers, Employability and Skills

Shop for OLE3816 What Queen’s has Given the World at https://qubuk.estore.flywire.com. Katy Hayward, PhD, FHEACathal McManus,

17/08/2026

Enrolment is now open for our Autumn and New Year 2026/27 courses! With short, part-time courses in subject areas such as creative writing, education and training, history and politics, environment, languages, and visual arts, we have something for everyone. Enrol & find out more at www.qub.ac.uk/ol

23/04/2026

The Language of Resistance: Discovering Minority and Indigenous Voices

Cecilia Gialdini, PhD

Fee £37.50 (concession rate £30.00) - fee will amend when you select the appropriate fee rate below.

Spring 2026

5 weekly sessions on Tuesdays 2.00 pm 3.30 pm, starting 12 May

Through a series of case studies, the course explores the language and cultural activism of various linguistic minorities and indigenous groups, i.e. the Quechua people in Peru, the South Tyroleans in Italy, the Basque peoples in Spain, the Māori in New Zealand. In each class, the instructor will present one or more cultural artefacts from these communities (a song, a passage from a novel, a poem, a movie clip) showing how people use their languages to preserve and celebrate their identities. From there, the class will examine each community’s historical background and the current status of their language and cultural rights in the country. By listening to their voices, students will have also engage with broader socio-political debates.

These classes will take place on QUB campus

Shop for OLE3454 The Language of Resistance: Discovering Minority and Indigenous Voices at https://qubuk.estore.flywire.com. Cecilia

23/04/2026

Creative Writing Courses:

How to Write a Personal Monologue - 6 May

Poetry of Resistance and Resilience - 8 May

Shop Creative Writing at https://qubuk.estore.flywire.com. Please see below our current Creative Writing courses. If you wish to return back to the main Open Learning Page please click this link

23/04/2026

Our Climate and Ecological Crisis: Causes, Consequences and Solutions

John Barry, PhD

Fee £75.00 (concession rate £60.00) - fee will amend when you select the appropriate fee rate below.

Spring 2026

5 weekly sessions on Saturdays 10.00 am 1.00 pm, starting 9 May

This course will examine:
1. The root causes of the crisis: looking at the ethical, political, economic and cultural dimensions the causes
2. Consequences: which countries, regions and populations are most vulnerable and at risk from the climate crisis?
3. Solutions: are there technological fixes?
This interdisciplinary course will range from asking ‘why is it easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism’, to asking what is politically and culturally possible if we flip our thinking and ask not what we can do for the planetary crisis, but rather what it can do for us in terms of opening new opportunities for remaking societies and views of the good life in the 21st century?

This course will be offered online

Shop for OLE3464  Our Climate and Ecological Crisis: Causes, Consequences and Solutions   at https://qubuk.estore.flywire.com. John Barry

23/04/2026

Investigating an Ancient Greek Sanctuary: Delphi and Divination

Aikaterini (Katerina) Kolotourou, BA, PhD

Fee £50.00 (concession rate £40.00) - fee will amend when you select the appropriate fee rate below.

Spring 2026

5 weekly sessions on Tuesdays 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm, starting 5 May

Focusing on the Oracle of Delphi and the Pythia, the course examines the historical, cultural, and spiritual significance of one of history’s most influential centres of divination. We will study myths, sacred rituals, and the interpretation of oracular messages, while comparing Delphi’s practices with other divination traditions worldwide. We will think about the motivations behind people’s oracular consultations, considering psychological and anthropological aspects of the oracular process.

This class will take place on QUB campus

Shop for OLE3610 Investigating an Ancient Greek Sanctuary: Delphi and Divination at https://qubuk.estore.flywire.com. Aikaterini (Katerina)

23/04/2026

Personal Development Courses:

Living & Working Well Together with Differences - 8 May

Reimaging Life Compassionately - 8 May

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction - 5 week course beginning 7 May

Shop Personal Development at https://qubuk.estore.flywire.com. Please see below our current Personal Development courses.If you wish to return back to the main Open Learning Page please click this link

22/04/2026

QUB Open Learning Language Courses:

Holiday German - 5 May
Let's Speak German - 6 May
Italian: Beginners' Continuation, Group 1 - 7 May
Holiday Italian Group 2 - 5 May
Italian Beginners Continuation, Group 2 - 7 May
Italian: Lets Speak More Italian - 5 May
Italian: Upper and Beyond - 5 May
Spanish: Upper Intermediate Continuation - 6 May
Spanish: Grammar Clinic -7 May
French through Creative Writing - 6 May
Advanced Intermediate Spanish - Continuation - 11 May
Italian Intermediate Vocabulary Accelerator Part 2 - 11 May

Shop Languages at https://qubuk.estore.flywire.com. Please see below our current Language courses.If you wish to return back to the main Open Learning Page please click this link

22/04/2026

Contracting and Expanding: The Rise of the Consumer

Laura Hill, LLB

Fee £50.00 (concession rate £40.00) - fee will amend when you select the appropriate fee rate below.

Spring 2026

5 weekly sessions on Mondays 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm, starting 11 May

This relaxed course will look at the historical, social, economic and legal issues that have given us the status of "consumer". How did our ancestors buy the things they needed then the things they wanted? We will consider the effects of industrialisation, mass-production, changing culture and increased regulation. We will look briefly at what the law says about contracts, misrepresentation, negligence, advertising and our rights in the 21st century.

This class will take place on QUB campus

Shop for OLE3486 Contracting and Expanding: The Rise of the Consumer at https://qubuk.estore.flywire.com. Laura Hill, LLB