Ho Chi Minh City Open University (HCMCOU) was founded on July 26, 1993, pursuant to Decision No. 389/Ttg dated on July 26, 1993 of the Prime Minister on establishing Ho Chi Minh City Semi-Public Open University and Decision No. 146/2006/QD-Ttg dated on June 22, 2006 of the Prime Minister on transforming semi-public University into public University named Ho Chi Minh City Open University. It offers the open way of training to activate the justified directions of the Communist Party and Government in socializing education and multiplying the types of training.

HCMCOU is an institution of higher education providing a variety of programs from undergraduate to postgraduate ranging from distance learning, on-site, learning at satellite academic centers, which aims at meeting various learning needs of society and contributes to the enlargement of the human resources for the country.