Mae Fah Luang University

Mae Fah Luang University

มหาวิทยาลัยแม่ฟ้าหลวง
File:Som Det Ya MFU.png
Type	Public (National)
Established	1998
Location	Chiang Rai , Thailand
Colours	Red and gold
Affiliations	ASAIHL
Website	www.mfu.ac.th

Mae Fah Luang University (MFU), in the province of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, is named after Princess Mother (Somdet Yah), mother of the King of Thailand. Mae Fah Luang was the name given to her by the local people in Chiang Rai.

MFU is an autonomous public university established on 25 September 1998. All of its programmes are taught in English, with the exception of Thai law and nursing. It has 11 schools: the School of Science, School of Liberal Arts, School of Management, School of Law, School of Medicine, School of Agro-Industry, School of Information Technology, School of Cosmetic Science, School of Health Science, School of Nursing, and School of Anti-Ageing and Regenerative Medicine.

Programmes

The university hospital was opened in September 2012. The School of Medicine has also been established and began offering MD degrees in the 2013 academic year.

International courses offered by the university include majors in business and Thai language and culture, but all courses offered by the university are open to international students.

The campus is in Tambon Tasood, Mueang District and consists mainly of hills with only a small area of plain. Construction took many years, as the campus was mostly built on hillsides.

The university uses English as the primary medium of instruction for the majority of its courses and has a large number of native English-speaking lecturers.

The People's Republic of China built the Sirindhorn Chinese Language and Cultural Center on the campus as a gift to Thailand, equipping it with computers with Chinese programs and Chinese textbooks. The center is built to resemble a traditional Chinese house, complete with courtyards, gardens, and a pond. The Confucius Institute is also located here.

In the 2012-2013 academic year over 10,000 students were enrolled at the university.

History

Mae Fah Luang University (MFU) was established as an autonomous public university, under the Royal Charter, in 1998, with support from the Royal Thai Government. The university was established to meet the needs of people in the north of Thailand, and to commemorate the contributions of the King's mother, Princess Srinagarindra, known to her subjects as "Mae Fah Luang." From its inaugural class of 64 students in 1998, MFU has become Thailand's fastest growing post-secondary institution.

Mae Fah Luang University campus occupies more than 800 hectares. As both a regional and national university, MFU provides education services and resources for the neighboring countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), and reaches out to all of Southeast Asia.