Malaysian higher education has grown and transformed significantly over the years, making it an increasingly desirable destination for both domestic and international students. This month, we take a look at the country’s numerous higher education institutions, such as universities, colleges, polytechnics and vocational institutes.
Malaysia’s educational institutions are both public and private in nature. Public institutions are highly-rated and provide a wide range of programmes, whilst private educational institutions also play an important role. Certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate programmes are available through both public and private institutions and these higher learning institutions house more than a million students including international students from more than 150 countries.
Higher education providers in Malaysia can be grouped into two major categories. The first is public higher educational institutions, which are government funded, and consist of public universities, polytechnics and community colleges. Secondly, there are private higher educational institutions, which consist of private universities and private university-colleges, foreign university branch campuses and private colleges.
Public Higher Education Institutions
These are government funded institutions and there is a total of 20 public higher education establishments in Malaysia. They offer Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programmes, with some offering programmes at diploma level. Public higher educational institutions are categorised into three major groups: Research Universities, Specialised Universities and Comprehensive Universities.
Of the 20 public universities at present, five are Research Universities and four are Comprehensive Universities. The remaining 11 are Specialised Universities.
Research Universities:
Universiti Malaya (UM)
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
Comprehensive Universities:
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIA)
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS)
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
Specialised Universities:
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI)
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM)
Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP)
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT)
Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP)
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM)
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA)
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK)
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM)
Private Higher Education Institutions
Private Higher Educational Institutions (PHEIs), better known as Institut Pengajian Tinggi Swasta (IPTS) in Malaysia, have been playing a role as important as government-funded universities in the provision of tertiary education since the early 1980s. All private-funded higher educational institutions come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Higher Education and comprise of 48 private universities, 10 foreign university branch campuses and private university colleges.
Foreign Branch Campuses in Malaysia include the following:
• Swinburne University, Sarawak
• Heriot-Watt University Malaysia Campus
• Curtin University, Sarawak
• Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia
• Monash University Sunway Campus
• University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
• University of Southampton Malaysia Campus
• University of Reading Malaysia
• Xiamen Uuniversity Malaysia Campus
• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and University College Dublin Malaysia Campus
Why Study in Malaysia?
For international students, studying in Malaysia can be a wonderful option, and there are several convincing reasons why one should consider furthering one’s education in the country. These include:
• Quality education
• World ranked universities
• Wide choice of institutions
• Established and reputed foreign branch campuses
• Affordable fees for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes
• Reasonable cost of living
• The medium of instruction is English
• Convenient to practice own religions
• Credit transfer arrangement from country of origin to Malaysian institutions thus providing a continuity of education
• Malaysian Colleges and Universities have a proven track record of academic excellence
• Option to study twinning programmes whereby students are able to obtain foreign degree from Malaysia
• Studying in Malaysia is a unique experience – a combination of Asian cultures with a strong presence of an international cross-cultural experience.
• Studying in Malaysia will broaden students’ intellectual horizons and deepen their knowledge and understanding of international, political, and economic issues
• An access to first-hand knowledge of other cultures
For further information, please contact the Embassy of Malaysia in Manama
(email [email protected]) or Education Malaysia in Dubai (email [email protected])
