Mahidol University

Mahidol University

Mahidol University (MU) (Thai: มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล, pronounced: ma-hi-don) is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. Established in 1888 as School of Medical Practitioners, Siriraj Hospital (now Siriraj Medical School) and reorganized in 1943 as University of Medical Sciences (Thai: มหาวิทยาลัยแพทยศาสตร์). The university originally focused on Health Sciences but also expanded to other fields in recent decades. MU hosted the first medical school of Thailand, the Siriraj Medical School, from which the university traced its origin. Today, MU offers a wide range of graduate (most are international programs) and undergraduate programs from natural sciences to liberal arts with remote campuses in Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Sawan, and Amnat Charoen provinces. In terms of fiscal budget and portion of budget spent on research programs, MU receives the highest budget of any public university; approximately $147 million each year, most of which is granted for graduate research programs. Mahidol University has been ranked Thailand's No. 1 university in 2011 by QS Asian University Rankings.