Universiti Sains Malaysia
 |
| Logo of the Universiti Sains Malaysia | |
| Motto | Kami Memimpin "We Lead" |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1969 |
| Chancellor | DYM Raja Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail |
| Vice-Chancellor | Profesor Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak |
| Location | , |
| Campus | Minden (main) |
| Affiliations | ASAIHL |
| Website | www.usm.my |
| Logo of the Universiti Sains Malaysia | |
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) (马来西亚理科大学,理大) is a public university with a main campus in Penang, Malaysia. There are two other campuses, one in Penang as well, and the other on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, in Kelantan. With around 35,000 students in 2005, USM is the biggest university in terms of enrolled students in Malaysia.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is one of three universities in Malaysia that have been identified as research-intensive universities in Malaysia. This is in tandem with its mission and vision to be a world-class university embarking on world class research programmes via strategic planning and implementation of its R&D mechanism. The university has qualified academic staff and excellent human resource support in order to realise its mission. In 2005 USM had around 35,000 students enrolled including 28,000 undergraduates. The number of lecturers was about 1,800, which leads to a student-lecturer ratio of around 1:20.
History
USM was established as the second university in Malaysia in 1969 and it was first known as Universiti Pulau Pinang. At that time, it operated in Bukit Gelugor, Penang. In 1971, USM's campus moved to its present 239.4-hectare site, which was the former site of military barracks.
From the outset, Universiti Sains Malaysia was given the mandate to provide, promote and develop higher education in the fields of pure sciences, applied sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, building sciences and technology, social sciences, humanities and education as well as to provide research, advancement and dissemination of such knowledge.
Campuses
Besides the main campus in Minden, USM has two other campuses; one at Kubang Kerian in Kelantan known as health campus and the other at Seri Ampangan, Nibong Tebal in mainland Penang known as engineering campus.
Started as a USM hospital in 1983, the health campus has expanded after the School of Medical Science was moved from the main campus to the present site which is 72.84 hectare in size. The School of Medical Science was moved from the main campus in June 1990. There're are now 2 other schools in the health campus - the School of Dental Science and the School of Allied Health Sciences. The engineering campus meanwhile moved to the present site from its previous site in Tronoh, Perak in 1996.
Research
USM offers excellent opportunities for research and education to both local and foreign scholars, The university’s core compencenties are teaching, research and consultancies, which relate directly to the advancement of human resource development and capacity building, knowledge and industrial competitiveness. The main R&D goal is focus on areas that integrate academic interest and practical relevance. The IRPA funding is the main source of R&D for USM. However, in order to promote research, the university allocates a sum of money from its operating funds annually as incentive and for short-term research. External funds, mainly the form of research grants, awards and consultancies won by individual academic staff members, are also beginning to feature prominently. There were, to be sure, external sources of funding as well, but these were largely of an ad hoc nature and did not as a rule result in the development of major research facilities.
Research areas
Research areas of special strength at USM include environmental science, aquaculture, biomedical and pharmaceutical studies, natural language processing and computer aided translation, information technology, food technology, polymer science and technology, biotechnology, distance education, geographical information system, structure analysis, materials science, engineering, surface chemistry, and robotic vision. Penang has excellent research facilities for collaborative search, particularly in coastal pollution, mangrove ecosystem and marine aquaculture.
Education
Graduate studies
USM offers three modes of study for the graduate programmes, i.e. by research, or by a combination of coursework and research (mixed mode), or by coursework. In 2003, there were about 5,122 students in the various study programmes at the master’s and doctoral levels. Almost 11.8% of them are foreign nationals from more than 40 countries. The majority of foreign students are from other parts of SEA.
Undergraduate studies
Almost all of undergraduate degree programmes at the University require a minimum full-time residence period of three years. Degrees in engineering, health sciences, pharmacy, medicine and dentistry, however, require minimum periods of study between 4-5 years. Most undergraduate courses are still taught in Bahasa Malaysia but the newer batch of undergraduate students are taught using English, especially in science courses. International students still have to demonstrate a level of proficiency in the national language as part of the entrance criteria.
Other study programmes
USM has study abroad programme for foreign students, and they can undertake either one or two semester. These students are considered as full-time students and also enjoy the benefits given as far as academic and physical facilities are concerned. The university and its community benefits from the cross-cultural flow of students as well as it gains international standing.
USM also has school of distance education. It was established in 1971 to provide opportunities for local working adults to obtain a tertiary qualification. These students are able to undertake undergraduate courses while still they are in full time employment. At present only four undergraduate programmes are available through distance learning, namely Bachelor of science, bachelor of social science, barchelor of arts, and bachelor of management degrees.
Schools
Technology Based Schools
- The school of Civil Engineering
- The school of Aerospace Engineering
- The school of Chemical Engineering
- The school of Electrical and Electric Engineering
- The school of Materials and Mineral Resources
- The school of Mechanical Engineering
- The school of Housing, Building and Planning
- The school of Industrial Technology
- The school of Medical Sciences
- The school of Dental Sciences
- The school of Health Sciences
- The school of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Liberal Arts Schools
- The school of Arts
- The school of Communication
- The school of Educational Studies
- The school of Humanities
- The school of Social Sciences
- The School of Management
Pure Science Schools
- The school of Biological Sciences
- The school of Chemical Sciences
- The school of Mathematical Sciences
- The school of Computer Science
- The school of Physics
Health Science Schools
- The school of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Activities at USM
USM has facilities for students' accommodation, sporting and recreational activities. The university offers hostels for approximately 75% of its students. They are known as student villages (Desasiswa), and they are located inside campus area. Cafeterias with reasonable prices can be found round all around university area.
USM provides varied and sufficient sporting facilities such as football field, badminton courts, tennis courts, hockey ground, rugby field, softball, squash courts, and basketball courts. A lot of cultural activities takes place in the university too.
Ranking
The university was ranked 111th in the World University Ranking 2004 published by the Times Higher Education Supplement. However, it has dropped out of the list of top 200 universities in the world in 2005. USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said that the addition of new criteria such as the employer survey could have contributed to the sharp drop in the university's position: "Our poor standing could also be attributed to the fact that we are a relatively young university compared to UM which is 100 years old. They have built up a stable reputation in that time." Prof. Dzulkifli also cited the poor staff-student ratio in Malaysian universities: "Over the past years we have doubled our intake. USM now has 35,000 students including 28,000 undergraduates but the number of lecturers, about 1,800 has not increased in tandem."
Movies and Television
Numerous movies have been filmed on or near USM's campus, including:
- Ali Setan (1985)
- Soalnya Siapa (2002)
Various television shows have used USM's campus, including:
- Layang-layang terputus talinya