The high cost of education is an issue that concerns many of us in the field of higher learning and it is especially concerning for people on the “receiving end” of a degree program.

Earning a Master’s or PhD degree is a big undertaking that requires a great deal of effort. It also takes time, organization, dedication and, increasingly, an awful lot of money.  This is an issue with which universities around the world struggle: governments are becoming less willing to fund institutions of higher learning, and sources of private funding are hard to come by.

The results include higher tuition fees for students and a concomitant increase in the length of time it takes a student to earn their degree: balancing work and study is a tricky task.

It can cost up to $25,000 Euros per year to earn a PhD degree at some universities, a substantial amount of money by any measure.

By contrast, tuition fees for the Intercultural Open University Foundation’s online PhD degree come to 10,000 Euros for the degree, irrespective of time in the program, and because all coursework is completed online, students incur no out-of-town living costs.

That’s still a respectable amount of money and we are sensitive to the challenges of raising money to complete an education. We are also sensitive to the fact that times have changed: learners a generation ago tended to be very averse to accumulating debt in order to complete their degree. There were fewer scholarships and bursaries available and the tendency was to work very hard and save as much money as possible. There were not many other choices, truth to tell.

We find that many of today’s learners have a different mindset: there is a greater preference for scholarship and bursary money than in times gone by, and there is almost an expectation that scholarship money should be made available for a PhD education.

Because IOUF is structured as a charitable foundation we are completely self-funded and have no recourse to government funding agencies in any country. Our faculty and staff are made up of dedicated volunteers who do not draw a salary. We rely on tuition fees for the minimal physical plant and the fixed expenses involved in educating social change agents around the world.

While IOUF does offer many scholarships, we regret that we cannot provide each of our learners full scholarship funding for their studies. We can, however, offer an instalment program to facilitate payment. And, if you are an individual with a passion for social change and a dedication to making a difference in the world, we can guarantee that undertaking your degree through the IOUF will put you in touch with a community of like-minded individuals who are transforming our world in large and small ways every minute of every day.

We can guarantee a PhD degree that speaks of your dedication and tenacity.

And we can support you whole-heartedly as you work towards an accomplishment that will proclaim your academic integrity to the waiting world.

If you would like more information about how we can work with you to earn your PhD degree, please contact us directly. We know that times have changed. And we’re looking forward to matching your enthusiasm with our experience.