The Faculty of Arts & Law is one of the first and largest teaching departments of the Open University of China (OUC). The Arts Department, which was founded in 1979 with the establishment of OUC, was the predecessor of the present Faculty of Arts & Law. In 1995, the Arts Department was renamed the Department of Arts and Law, and in August 2007, the Faculty of Arts & Law.

The Open University of China (OUC) started offering diploma education in economics and management through distance education in 1983. At that time, the division in charge was the Teaching & Research Office of Economics & Management under the supervision of the Liberal Arts Department. In 1985, the Department of Economics & Management was established. It was renamed as the Department of Finance & Economics in 1994 and in 2007 as the Faculty of Economics & Management.

The predecessor of the Faculty of Teacher Education of the Open University of China (OUC) was China Television Teachers College, established in July 1987, and incorporated into OUC in 1994. After the merger, the original name of the China Television Teachers College was retained for external communication, while for the internal communication, it was known as Teacher Education Department of OUC. During the OUC institutional reform in September 2007, it was officially renamed the Faculty of Teacher Education.

 
The Faculty of Agroforestry & Medicine (China Liaoyuan Radio & TV School) of the Open University of China (OUC) was established in September of 2007. Its predecessors were the Teaching & Research Section of Biology established in 1982 and the Department of Agriculture & Medicine, set up in 1996.