Osborne studied composition with Egon Wellesz, first pupil of Arnold Schoenberg (1968–69), also with Kenneth Leighton (his predecessor as Reid Professor of Music at the University of Edinburgh) at Oxford University (1969–70), and later in Warsaw with Witold Rudziński (1970–71) where he also he worked in the Polish Radio Experimental Studio.
Osborne studied composition under Egon Wellesz, a student of Arnold Schoenberg, at Oxford University from 1969 to 1970. He continued his studies in Warsaw with Witold Rudziński from 1970 to 1971, also working with the Polish Radio Experimental Studio.