Online short courses and events
Join a worldwide community of adult learners
Explore a topic in depth over one or two days; extend your knowledge over several weeks with a lecture series or a weekly learning programme.
Explore the different online course types below.
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Short online courses (Flexible): These have no live-time meetings, so you can study when it suits you.
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Short online courses (Live): These have weekly 1-hour online meetings to attend.
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Day and weekend events: Include livestreamed lectures and small online workshops.
Upcoming courses
Online - live • Short courses • Hybrid - in person or online
Examine how ordinary people in medieval England (1000-1550 CE) used religious and ritual objects in daily life in this hybrid lecture. Drawing on finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, learn how material culture shaped faith and community.
- Fri 28 Nov 2025
- 4:45 – 6:15pm
Online - live • Short courses • Professional development • Hybrid - in person or online
Can we re-frame heritage loss? This transdisciplinary course will explore how to manage transformative change in the historic environment to generate both ecological and cultural benefits. Join online or in-person to stay on top of emerging ideas.
- Tue 09 Dec 2025
- 1 meetings
Online - flexible • 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 mammal and reptile surveys.
- Wed 07 Jan 2026 – 11 Feb 2026
- 5 meetings
Online - live • Short courses
The course focuses on analysing original passages from some of the greatest ancient Greek authors, tackling some challenging grammatical and syntactical phenomena and learning about ancient Greek culture and thought.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 23 Mar 2026
- 10 meetings
- 4:30 – 5:30pm
Online - flexible • Short courses
Why do animals behave the way they do? In this course we will look at the full range of behaviours found in the animal kingdom, from simple escape behaviours to complex tool use and their evolution.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 27 Mar 2026
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course examines the rise and fall of the British Empire and its manifold legacies in Britain and beyond.
- Mon 12 Jan 2026 – 27 Mar 2026
Flexible learning with Oxford
As well as short online courses, we also offer flexible Oxford University qualifications and professional development programmes. Many can be studied fully online, some require short residencies in Oxford.
Short online courses
Our short online courses are taught in two alternative teaching formats - flexible or live. All of these courses are usually 10 weeks long.Distance learning
Study with Oxford from anywhere in the world. From part-time Oxford University qualifications and professional development programmes (CPD), to online short courses.Low-residency programmes
Our low-residency programmes allow students the flexibility of studying primarily from home, with short residential stays in Oxford.Continuing professional development
Professional development with Oxford University. From short courses and training in Oxford and online to flexible graduate programmes and bespoke courses.