TNOU: fees, courses and admission

Overview

Tamil Nadu Open University was set up by a Tamil Nadu Act in 2002 and began teaching in 2003-04 from its headquarters in Saidapet, Chennai. It teaches only by distance, with printed self-learning material, 12 regional centres and 227 learner support centres across the state.

Type

State open university, Tamil Nadu

Modes

Distance (ODL)

Sessions

Academic Year (July) and Calendar Year (January)

Study centres

12 regional centres and 227 learner support centres across Tamil Nadu

Entrance test

None listed for UG and PG degrees; the B.Ed. Special Education has one

Courses and fees

Fees are from TNOU’s Academic Year 2026 fee sheet (posted June 2026), which gives two figures for each course: with printed books or with soft copies only. That sheet doesn’t name the period; TNOU’s Calendar Year 2026 prospectus prints the same figures for most courses under “Annual Fee Structure”, so we show them as yearly fees. TNOU doesn’t publish separate second- or third-year amounts, so we haven’t added totals. Exam fees are paid separately on the TNOU portal before each term-end exam; TNOU doesn’t post the amount. The Calendar Year 2026 prospectus lists 10% off for Tamil-medium courses and 30% (arts) or 25% (science) off tuition for direct admission at the headquarters or a regional centre.

Admission

1. Academic Year 2026-27 admission

   The last date was 15 September 2026, extended to 13 October 2026; the TNOU portal now says AY 2026-27 admission has closed.

2. Calendar Year 2027 (January batch)

   Not announced yet (checked 21 October 2026). TNOU ran a Calendar Year 2026 batch with its own prospectus.

How to apply

Admission portal: the university’s website. TNOU asks students to use only the university’s websites for admission. Admission section: 9345913378 or 044-24306614, the university’s email. Help desk at the Chennai headquarters: 044-24306600.

Eligibility

• MBA

  10th and 12th pass and any bachelor’s degree from a recognised university.

• M.Com

  A degree in Commerce, Business Administration or Corporate Secretaryship, or ACA, AICWA or ACS, or any degree with at least two Commerce papers.

• BA, B.Com, BBA, BCA

  10th and 12th pass or equivalent, 12th through NIOS or RIOS, a three-year DOTE diploma or a two-year NCVT ITI certificate.

• MA

  10th and 12th pass and any bachelor’s degree. MA Tamil needs Tamil under Part I of your degree.

Exams and study

Frequently asked questions