Short courses and events
Study with Oxford online or in person
Start or continue your learning journey with Oxford Lifelong Learning at any time of life!
You’ll join a highly diverse learning community: students of all ages, from all backgrounds and from all over the world. Learn more about the different types of open-access short courses we offer below.
- Day and weekend events run in person or online, with some offered in both formats. Explore a topic in depth over one or two days with multiple speakers, hone your skills in small workshops and hands-on practical sessions, or explore the city of Oxford with a walking tour.
- Lecture series are a series of weekly lectures on a given topic, providing a comprehensive introduction to your chosen subject. All can be watched online, with many taking place in a hybrid format – so you can choose to attend online or in person.
- Weekly learning programmes include courses that meet weekly in Oxford, online courses with live sessions, and flexible online courses.
- Professional development short courses are designed with academic experts from across the University and beyond, allowing professional learners from across the globe the opportunity to benefit from Oxford University's excellence in research and teaching.
- Summer schools: Join us in Oxford for personal enrichment, academic progression or professional development. Many summer schools can be taken for credit; others require no coursework and are non-assessed.
Upcoming courses
Online - flexible • Short courses • Professional development
Part-time over five weeks, this tutor-led training course can be taken from anywhere in the world. It will appeal to students and practitioners who want to improve their ability to conduct fish and amphibian surveys.
- Wed 18 Mar 2026 – 22 Apr 2026
- 5 meetings
Short intensive • Short courses • Professional development
Good communication is key to achieving high performance in the workplace. Today's team leaders need to communicate with multiple stakeholders using multiple communication methods. This course will cover how to excel in written and verbal communication.
- Mon 23 Mar 2026 – 26 Mar 2026
- 9.30am - 12.30pm (UK time)
Short intensive • Short courses • Professional development
This five-day course provides a thorough overview of the exciting and emerging discipline of nanomedicine, which is already starting to transform the way that medical and health care solutions are developed and delivered.
- Mon 23 Mar 2026 – 27 Mar 2026
Online - live • Short courses • Hybrid - in person or online
As the US marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this series of five lectures focuses on the principal architects of the American revolution and their personal journey from British subjects to citizens of the United States.
- Wed 25 Mar 2026 – 29 Apr 2026
- 11:00am – 12:30pm
Online - live • Short courses
This online day school introduces the brain and key topics of neuroscience. We will study biological theories in the context of psychology, covering basic brain neuroanatomy and linking it to human behaviour and mind functions such as learning and sleep.
- Thu 26 Mar 2026
- 10:00am – 5:00pm
In-person day/weekend • Short courses
In a world of economic instability and social breakdown, dystopia has become the reigning form through which we imagine the future. This event will review four versions of dystopian fiction and consider how they reflect changes in Western society.
- Sat 11 Apr 2026
- 9:45am – 5:00pm
