We have one question for people who have been thinking about registering for a PhD degree through the IOU Foundation: What’s stopping you?

For people who are academically inclined, or whose mission in life is to contribute to a better world in whatever way they can, the achievement of a PhD degree is a powerful way to open doors and generate respect for your work and your philosophy. It represents a major contribution to the world’s understanding of your field and it can help you make a big difference in the lives of the people you would like to help.

The IOU Foundation maintains a rigorous set of admission standards and our faculty and staff have high expectations of our students. But we also provide a very accessible degree program and people who enroll with us, and who are willing to work hard, are better able to combine work and study than people attending traditional “bricks and mortar” institutions.

Here’s what it takes to complete a PhD degree through the Intercultural Open University Foundation:

1.     A computer with an internet hookup. Our learners can be located in any community around the world as long as they have access to a computer and a link to the internet. All IOU Foundation degree program course work is self-directed and conducted online, so geography is only a limitation if electricity and internet capabilities are unavailable.

2.     Time. Learners customize their curriculum according to their own goals and interests. The IOU Foundation does not prescribe specific courses for learners, which means no timetable need dictate a learner’s progress. To a large degree, our learners fit their coursework around their existing duties and obligations.

3.     Vibrant intellect. IOUF has been the university of choice for some of the world’s most creative and exciting leaders. Working mostly for the betterment of their home communities, they have used their work in the area of social change as a starting point for examining and reflecting upon ways of making the world a better place. Just to be clear, our learners are not wild revolutionaries touting governmental overthrow – they are thoughtful, reasoned and very often quite humble proponents of helping other people live better lives. They are intellectually curious and show great imagination in their approaches to solving some of the world’s biggest problems – like poverty, discrimination, sustainable development, and spiritual impoverishment.

4.     Money for fees. An IOU Foundation PhD degree costs 10,000 Euros. There are no costs for housing, and transportation to our online campus can be had for the price of a computer and an internet hookup. We have a number of scholarships available for eligible students.

If you’ve been considering enrolling in our PhD degree program, but have unanswered questions about how the program would fit in with your plans for your life, we invite you to connect with us to obtain more information. We’re proud of the place we occupy in the world and we’d love to have you join us. Don’t let lack of information stop you from making your dreams for the world come true!