Chiang Mai University


Chiang Mai University is a national public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964. It has a strong emphasis on engineering, science, agriculture, and medicine. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional, and continuing education offered through resident instruction. Its main campus lies between central Chiang Mai and Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai province.
The university was the first institution of higher education in northern Thailand and the first provincial university in Thailand.
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History

In 1941, when Sindh Kamalanavin was the Ministry [of Education (Thailand)|Minister of Education] under Plaek Phibunsongkhram's premiership, the idea of expanding higher education to provincial areas was first proposed. Mom Luang Pin Malakul, the director of Triam Udom Suksa School at the time, was asked to provide advice on the establishment of a university in the provinces. But when the Greater East Asia War broke out, these plans ultimately went on hold.
After the end of the war, the people of Chiang Mai, led by Ki and Kimhaw Nimmanhaeminda, called for the provision of higher education in the regions and urged the government to establish a university in Chiang Mai Province. This movement gained strong momentum, and one form of public expression during the campaign was the dissemination of printed cards conveying opinions and demands, which were distributed among students and the general public.
A resolution to establish a university in the Chiang Mai province was finally approved by the Sarit Thanarat's Cabinet in 1960, with plans to start classes in 1964. Mom Luang Pin Malakul chaired the preparatory committee for the establishment of Chiang Mai University while he served as the Minister of Education. He carefully and diligently spent an extensive amount of time in the preparations, overseeing every aspect, which included defining the institution's mission and establishment policies, surveying the site, planning the university's layout, developing curricula and teaching arrangements, developing facilities, and laying the foundation for higher education.
The Chiang Mai University Act was promulgated on 15 January 1964 and published in the Royal Gazette on 21 January, coming into force on the day following its publication in the Royal Gazette. The university officially commenced its first academic instruction on 18 June 1964. In its initial phase, three faculties were established as the foundation of all academic disciplines: the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Science.
In the following year, King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit presided over the official opening ceremony of the university on 24 January 1965, accompanied by Princess Ubol Ratana and Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn.

Campuses

Chiang Mai University has four campuses, three of them in Chiang Mai and one in Lamphun, which together cover about. There are 18 housing complexes located on campus for students attending the university. Seventeen of them are on the main campus and one is on the Mae Hea campus

Suan Sak Campus (main campus)

The main university campus, known as Suan Sak campus or Cherng Doi, lies about five kilometres west of the city centre. Set against Doi Suthep, the campus occupies a site, bounded on three sides by main shopping streets and on the fourth by the Chiang Mai Zoo. The campus includes the university's administrative centre; the science, engineering, humanities, social science, political science and public administration, law and graduate school, all of the campus resource facilities and services and major sports facilities. An attractive feature of this campus is the Ang Kaew Reservoir. Constructed to supply water for the university, it is also a recreational area for campus residents and the local community. In the 1960s, the area was still forested. With conservation in mind, university buildings were constructed between the trees, with the result that the campus still retains much of its original setting.

Suan Dok campus

Near the main campus, and closer to the city, opposite Wat Suan Dok, the health sciences complex, the Suan Dok campus, occupies a site which includes faculties of medicine, associated medical sciences, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, known locally as Suan Dok, the largest teaching hospital in northern Thailand.

Mae Hia campus

About 5 km south of the main campus, the Mae Hia campus is home to the faculties of veterinary medicine and agro-industry. The Energy Research and Development Institute, the university centre for renewable energy, and the energy efficiency improvement centre moved from the main campus to the Mae Hia campus in January 2009. This centre is a national "biogas centre of excellence", emphasising biogas activities, especially biogas on swine farms.

Si Bua Ban campus

The university's latest acquisition is the Si Bua Ban campus in Amphoe Mueang Lamphun, Lamphun Province, about 55 kilometres south of Chiang Mai, on a site close to the Lamphun industrial centre.

Academics

Chiang Mai University is a large, highly residential, research university, with a majority of enrollment coming from graduate and professional students.

Faculty

Chiang Mai University has a total of 20 faculties, 3 colleges, 2 institutes and 1 graduate school.

Rankings

Chiang Mai University ranks 3rd in academics and 5th in research according to the Office of the Higher Education Commission. Quacquarelli Symonds ranked the university 88th in Asia in 2023. Chiang Mai University Ranking has been going up recently giving it 601–605 place by QS TOP UNIVERSITY RANKINGS in 2023

Research institutes

Non-university schools

  • Language Institute Chiang Mai University
  • Chiang Mai University Demonstration School

University operations

The university requires students to wear school uniforms. The Student Development Division, in 2022, supported the dress code.

Notable people

Alumni

Lecturers