Karnataka State Open University is a distance learning university founded in 1996, located in Mysore, Karnataka, India.

Karnataka State Open University was formally established on June 1, 1996 under the Karnataka State Open University Act of 1992, with the objectives of introducing and promoting the system of open university and distance learning in the state of Karnataka, and coordinating and determining the standard of such a system in the state. The University has its headquarters in Mysore. The university was initiated by the Government of Karnataka. The objective is to provide education to people who cannot attend full time or part time educational courses offered by universities. The distance education programmes of Karnataka State Open University provide opportunities to working professionals who cannot afford full time education to earn degrees or diplomas. The Karnataka State Open University originally started as the Institute of Correspondence Course and Continuing Education, a wing of University of Mysore. The Karnataka State Open University is the 8th Open University to be established in India.

Karnataka /kɑrˈnɑːtəkə/ is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava (Formation Day). Originally known as the State of Mysore /maɪˈsɔər/, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. It is the land of the Kannadigas, Tuluvas, Konkanis and Kodavas. The capital and largest city is Bangalore.

Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres (74,122 sq mi), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is the eighth largest Indian state by area. With over 61 million inhabitants (2011), Karnataka is the ninth largest state by population, comprising 30 districts. Kannada is the most widely spoken and official language of the state.

The two main river systems of the state are Krishna and its tributaries (Bhima, Ghataprabha, Vedavati, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra) in the north, and the Cauvery and its tributaries (Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini) in the south. Both these rivers flow eastward and fall into the Bay of Bengal.

The Open University (also commonly referred to by its initialism OU) is a distance learning and researchuniversity founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom. The university is funded by a combination of student fees, contract income, and allocations for teaching and research by the higher education funding bodies in each of the four countries of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). It is notable for having an open entry policy, i.e. students' previous academic achievements are not taken into account for entry to most undergraduate courses. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off-campus, but many of its courses (both undergraduate and postgraduate) can be studied off-campus anywhere in the world. There are a number of full-time postgraduate research students based on the 48 hectare university campus where they use the OU facilities for research, as well as more than 1000 members of academic and research staff and over 2500 administrative, operational and support staff.