Mae Fah Luang University, situated in the province of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, is named after Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother (Somdet Yah), the mother of the current king of Thailand. Mae Fah Luang was the name given to her by the local people in Chiang Rai. It is an autonomous public university, established on September 25, 1998 and is set apart from the rest of Thailand's universities by the fact that all of its programmes are taught in English, with the exception of Thai Law and Nursing. It now has 10 schools namely, the School of Liberal Arts, School of Management, School of Law, School of Science, 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 and in 2012 offers 72 programmes such as: Biotechnology, Cosmetic Science, Engineering, Aviation Business Management, Agro-Industry and many more. The university hospital has been completed, and was formally opened in September 2012. The School of Medicine has also been established and will begin offering M.D. 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 situated 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. Expansion work is continually under construction.
The university uses English as the primary medium of instruction for the majority of its courses and it also has a large number of native English-speaking teachers, lecturing in a wide range of disciplines. Mae Fah Luang University is a fairly new university and benefits from this by being able to offer modern courses relevant to today's world.
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 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.
For the 2012-2013 Academic Year there are over 10,000 students enrolled at the university.
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