The Open University of Israel offers undergraduate courses in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and is based on distance teaching. The duration of studies for a bachelor's degree in universities is three years in most cases. However in certain fields such as engineering the duration of study extends to up to four years and in the case of architecture, five years. Higher Education in Israel usually follows 12 years of primary and secondary education. Some fields of study require creating minimum grades in matriculation examinations.
Most institutions require candidates to submit psychometric entrance examination scores.
The only requirement of the Open University is that applicants are capable of academic study. Pre-academic preparatory programs have been set up in universities, teacher training colleges and regional colleges to provide a second chance to enter higher education to individuals who did not obtain a matriculation certificate at the culmination of their secondary level education or who want to improve their chances of being accepted in an institution of higher education. Students Most Israeli students are over age 21 when they begin their studies, due to three years compulsory military service for men and almost two years for women. Until the early 1960s, students pursued higher education mainly to acquire knowledge, while in recent years they have been more career-oriented, with larger numbers enrolled in the wide range of professional studies now offered. Since its inception, Hebrew University scientists have been actively involved in every phase of Israel's national development, and its Jewish studies departments rank among the most comprehensive in the world.