🚧 This is a beta prototype - We're actively developing and testing the core concepts
About OUDS
Bringing order to university data.
Comparing universities is much harder than it should be.
If you've ever tried, you know the frustration. One university's website is a maze of PDFs; another uses completely different terminology. Credits in Italy are called CFUs; in the US, they're "credit hours." Grades are on a scale of 18-30 here, and A-F there. Even finding a simple fact like "how many lab hours does this course have?" can feel like an impossible task.
The information is out there, but it's scattered, inconsistent, and doesn't speak the same language.
A Problem We Had to Solve for Ourselves
This project started from a simple, practical need. I was building an app to help students find the right university for them, and I immediately hit a wall: the data. The sheer amount of time spent just collecting, cleaning, and trying to make sense of basic information was staggering.
It became clear that anyone trying to build a useful tool for students or universities faces the exact same problem, reinventing the wheel every single time.
So, we decided to build the tool we wished existed.
What is OUDS?
OUDS (Open University Data Standard) is an attempt to create a common language for university data.
Think of it as a translator. We don't try to force an Italian CFU to become an American credit hour. That would distort its meaning. Instead, we document what each one is, clearly and consistently, and then build bridges to show how they relate to international standards. The goal is to let you compare things meaningfully without losing the original context.
It's an open, collaborative effort to organize information about universities, degree programs, and qualifications into a clean, reliable, and accessible format.
Why Collaboration Matters
Building accurate, comprehensive university data requires collective effort. No single person or organization can do this alone.
Everyone Can Contribute
Whether you're a student, professor, administrator, or just someone with local knowledge, you can start contributing right now. Adding information is simple: just submit what you know about universities, programs, or qualifications in your area.
Every contribution is tracked and credited. Your name and the date of your input become part of the data's history, creating transparency about who provided what information and when.
Essential Data for Builders
Clean, standardized university data is crucial for anyone wanting to create tools for students. Developers building comparison platforms, career guidance apps, or educational planning tools need reliable data they can trust.
Instead of spending months scraping and cleaning inconsistent data from university websites, developers can focus on building innovative solutions that actually help students make better decisions.
Our Commitments
To make this work, we're building it on a few core principles:
Links That Don't Break
Every university, course, or qualification gets a unique, permanent code. A link you create today should still work years from now.
A Record of Changes
When information is updated, we don't just overwrite the old data. We keep a history, so you can see how a program has evolved over time.
Knowing Where Data Comes From
Every piece of information comes with its credentials: the source it was taken from and when it was collected. No mysterious numbers.
Built to Improve Together
The system is designed so that anyone can report an error or suggest an update. We believe that together, we can keep the data more accurate than any single organization could alone.