University of Malaya

The University of Malaya (UM) was the first university established in Malaya on 8th of October 1949 with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine (established in 1905) and the Raffles College (established in 1928).

UM, as it is known today, was officially recognised as a public university on the 1st of January 1962. Its initial objective to provide tertiary education to the people of Malaysia has successfully produced leaders and intellectuals in a range of disciplines. In line with the myriad of educational transformations that Malaysia has been undergoing, UM has continually stepped up its efforts to meet its vision of becoming an internationally renowned institution of higher learning in research, innovation, publication, and teaching.

To achieve this vision, the UM is supported by the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), the biggest and first research teaching hospital in Malaysia, two academies, twelve faculties, four institutes, and three centres of excellence that comprehensively encompass medicine, science, technology, the social sciences and the humanities. In addition, six research clusters have been established to place the university at the forefront of new knowledge and discoveries. The thrust of its contribution to academia as well as society is through teaching, research, publication, innovation, and commercialisation.

With the nation's aspirations as its guide, UM continues to strengthen its status in the academic world, both within the country and internationally. It has been ranked 87th in the 2018 QS World University Ranking and 24th in the 2018 QS Asia University Rankings. UM is also ranked in the 401-500 band of Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. These accomplishments have endorsed UM as the best university in Malaysia. On 6th of May 2014, another international recognition was achieved when UM became the  only institution of higher learning in the country to be awarded a 5 star rating by the QS Stars Ratings.

UM has collaborated with renowned research institutes and universities from 65 countries. Some of its active global partners are: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Korea University, Kyoto University, National University of Singapore, The Australian National University, Tsinghua University, Unversity of Glasgow and Universitas Indonesia, to name a few.

To date, UM has appointed four Nobel Fellows and two Distinguished Fellows as members of the UM HIR Advisory Council. They are Nobel Fellow Professor Barry Marshall (Physiology or Medicine), Nobel Fellow Professor Ryoji Noyori (Chemistry), Nobel Fellow Professor David Baltimore (Physiology or Medicine), Nobel Fellow Sir Richard Roberts (Physiology or Medicine), Distinguished Professor Rita Colwell (University of Maryland, USA) and Distinguished Professor Wong Chi-Huey (Academia Sinica, Taiwan).

UM has attained accreditations from many institutions and professional bodies, such as the Washington Accord, Institution of Chemical Engineers UK, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Association of Building Engineers, University of Malaya Royal Institute of British Architects, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales, Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia, SMBG-Eduniversal France, Royal College of Surgeons of England UK, Institute of Physics & Engineering in Medicine UK, Association of MBA, UK and many others to ensure the university's curriculum meets national and international needs, indicating that our programmes are relevant globally relevant.

UM is committed to lead the nation in research and innovation as well as to be one of the top 100 universities in the world by 2020.