UM is the first public university established in Malaysia with a long history of achieving numerous accolades and delivers the best academic experience and world-class educational facilities.
The University of Malaya was founded in Singapore on the 28th of September 1905 as the King Edward VII College of Medicine. The name University of Malaya was first used on the 8th of October 1949 with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine and Raffles College (established in 1928). The University of Malaya, also known as Universiti Malaya (UM), was recognised as a public university in the Federation of Malaya from the 1st of January 1962. This makes UM the oldest public university in Malaysia.
UM’s Coat of Arms bears the university’s motto, ‘Ilmu Puncha Kemajuan’, which translates to "Knowledge is the Source of Progress". Throughout her more than one century of existence, UM has continued to excel, continuously producing outstanding leaders, intellectuals and experts. UM is a comprehensive research-focused university with multidisciplinary areas of research and teaching that encompass medicine, science, engineering, technology, social sciences and humanities.
UM also has the first and biggest teaching hospital in Malaysia, the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), which provides excellent healthcare services and serves as a major referral centre for Malaysia. In addition, the UM Research Clusters were established to further drive interdisciplinary research that addresses national and global challenges.
Steadfast in upholding our nation’s aspirations, UM strives to achieve a global presence and international recognition. In recent years, UM has emerged among the world’s top 100 universities in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. UM continues to strengthen and promote strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders that include universities, industries, and government. The university also receives regional recognition through institutional assessment by the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA), a testament to UM’s quality as an institution of prestige at the international level.
UM attributes its strength and success to the university’s diverse and inclusive staff, students, partners and collaborators, and alumni. UM’s commitment and contribution to academia and society through teaching, research, and services has had a positive impact on the nation and the world.
On June 16th 1962, University of Malaya celebrated the installation of its first Chancellor, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, who was also the country's first prime minister. The first Vice-Chancellor was Professor Oppenheim, a world-renowned Mathematician.