Public Universities in Malaysia: Best 10 universities and their disciplines

Public Universities in Malaysia are an interesting destination for international students. The quality of living and the ability to bear the costs are the most important factors that attract students to study in the country.

In the past years, Malaysia became an outstanding academic hub in Southeast Asia.

The higher education system in Malaysia is diversified, regarding its institutions, either the private or the public ones. Today, we will highlight the public universities in Malaysia and the disciplines they offer.

Check our article about the higher education system in Malaysia.

Table of Contents

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

It is a leading public university in Malaysia in the field of research and encouraging innovation in the technological field.

The university also cares about developing the human capital competencies by offering study programs that fulfill all the academic standards towards achieving quality education.

The university offers a number of study programs, including:

Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying: the college offers several study bachelor programs, including Quantity Surveying and Urban and Regional Planning.

Faculty of Engineering: It has many study programs related to its School of Mechanical Engineering.

Universiti Malaysia Kelantan

Universiti Malaysia Kelantan is one of the public universities in Malaysia. This university offers a number of special disciplines through its eight faculties for the bachelor, master, and PhD degrees. These disciplines include the following bachelor programs:

Applied Science (Bioindustrial Technology)
Business Administration (Islamic Banking and Finance)
Applied Science (Food Security)

The master’s degree programs offer various disciplines, such as veterinary medicine, finance, technology, tourism, and others.

Moreover, the PhD programs are offered in accounting, commerce, food security, philosophy, and others.

Learn more on the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan’s website

Universiti Malaysia Sabah

Universiti Malaysia Sabah is a creative public university in Malaysia.

It offers a number of disciplines in several fields, such as sciences and technology, social and psychological work, food and nutrition, economics and business, international trade and agriculture, and others.

Find out more on the website of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah

Universiti Utara Malaysia

Universiti Utara Malaysia is also one of the public universities in Malaysia. It is one of the best institutions.

This university offers comprehensive study programs through its different faculties and schools. The programs offer include:

Finance, banking, and economics
Business management
Tourism and hospitality
Logistics, transportation, and operation
Technology

Learn more about the Universiti Utara Malaysia

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak is one of the public universities in Malaysia that offers various study programs in many fields, including:

Arts and design
Human resource development
Computational science
Linguistics
Social work studies

Learn more on the official website of the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) is the National University of Malaysia was established in 1971 in the outskirt of Putrajaya, the country’s administration city. Among the leading universities of the Malaysia, UKM is one of the country’s top research centers since 2006. Offering various disciplines and fields of study, UKM is a very popular institution for local as well as international students in Malaysia.

The campus consists of 13 faculties, 16 research institutes, 10 residential colleges, and 10 service centers. Another very important feature of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is its 5 “living labs” dedicated to scientific and sociological research on the country’s ecological systems and their sustainability. Last but not least, UKM has outpaced other Malaysian institutions by implementing the innovative Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) method to teach its students.

Learn more on the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s website

UM – University of Malaya

University of Malaya is the first university of Malaysia, situated in the capital city Kuala Lumpur, and the only public university of the city. It was established as a public university in 1962 with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine established in 1905 and Raffles College in 1928. The University of Malaya is divided into 12 faculties, 2 academies and 3 study centers, and hosts more than 20,000 students.

The university offers various study subjects from medical studies to Education along with Economics and Administration, Dentistry, Computer Science and Information Technology among many others.

Learn more at the website of the University of Malaya

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

Another high-profile public university in Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia is the second oldest university of the country. USM stands out for its revolutionary approach of the higher education, leaving behind the classic faculty system for a more broad-based school system.

As one of the biggest research centers of Malaysia, USM includes then 26 schools offering both undergraduate and postgraduate studies, along with 17 centers of excellence and 2 higher institution centers of excellence. These latest 2 aim to offer opportunities for research and innovation for students and researchers in Malaysia. The university has 4 campuses, with its main campus located in Penang.

Learn more about Universiti Sains Malaysia

UiTM – Universiti Teknologi Mara

UiTM is Malaysia’s largest university system, established with a university status in 1999 while it started offering degree programs in 1996. The university is Malaysia’s largest institution of higher education, expanded throughout the country with 13 branch campuses, 21 satellite campuses and offering over 500 academic programs.

Moreover, to support its effort as a “research-intensive entrepreneurial university” UiTM additionally has 9 Centers of excellence. The university has started to welcome international students since 2017, and offers numerous fields of study such as:

Arts & Design
Law
Computer Science & Mathematics
Medicine
Dentistry
Business and Accounting
Engineering.

Find out more on the website of the Universiti Teknologi Mara

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) was established in 1993 under the name Pusat Latihan Staf Politeknik (PLSP). It evolved into an institute of technology in 1996 before becoming recognized with the full university status in 2007. The campus is situated in the southern part of Malaysia and offers courses ranging from diploma to postgraduate degrees.

Specialized in various fields, UTHM offers study subjects such as: