Higher Education in Malaysia  >  Universities in Malaysia > Branch Campus of Foreign Universities

● Malaysian government’s efforts over the past 30 years in internationalisation Malaysian education and developing the private higher educational sector has made Malaysia an important higher education destination for international students from all over the world.

● With far-sighted human development policies, Malaysia is also a country of choice for reputable foreign universities to set up their branch campuses.

● Malaysia now has a varied international student population of more than 100,000 from countries such as China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iran, Maldives, Nigeria, Sudan, Yemen, India, Botswana, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

● Currently, there are ten reputable foreign universities that have set up their branch campuses in Malaysia.

 

Students who wish to obtain a degree from a foreign university can do so through branch campuses of foreign universities which have set up base in Malaysia. Below is a list of such institutions.


Foreign Universities with Campus in Malaysia
.....Borderless Higher Education.....
 

Eleven (11) International University's branch campuses operating in Malaysia :
 

Shanghai Jiao Tong overseas campus in Kuching City 上海交通大學古晉海外分校	Shanghai Jiao Tong overseas campus in Kuching City 上海交通大學古晉海外分校
Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak	Swinburne’s popular engineering and business programmes are accredited by professional bodies such as the Institution of Engineers Australia, Board of Engineers Malaysia and CPA Australia. The undergraduate computing programmes are accredited by the Australian Computer Society. A student exchange programme is also available, where students can spend up to two semesters in Melbourne or at one of Swinburne’s partner institutions in Europe while paying Swinburne Sarawak fees. Swinburne students in Kuching have the option of completing their studies locally or at main campuses in Melbourne. It is a smooth transition, as the programmes and subjects offered at both campuses are the same.
Heriot-Watt University Malaysia Campus	2014 Putrajaya
Curtin University, Sarawak	Curtin University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) is the first offshore campus of Curtin University of Technology Western Australia (Curtin Western Australia), Located in Miri, Sarawak, Curtin Sarawak is the first foreign university campus to be set up in East Malaysia.
Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia	Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) set itself apart by being the first UK university to establish a fully-owned international branch campus for medicine in Malaysia. Offering a five-year Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) as their first programme, Newcastle alsoexpanded their repertoire with a bachelor’s in biomedical sciences and foundation programmes.
Monash University Sunway Campus	Monash University Sunway Campus offers students a broad range of disciplines to pursue, with the curriculum, facilities and academic strength to back it up. Choices ranging from arts and social sciences, business and engineering, to information technology, medicine, pharmacy, psychology and science. Monash has campuses in : 1- Australia, 2- Malaysia and 3- South Africa, 4- a research academy in India with the Indian Institute of Technology (IITB), and 5- a new research-intensive partnership in Suchou, Jiangsu Province in China. There is also a Monash University Centre in Italy and a recently formed global alliance with Warwick University, UK.
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus	One of the first foreign universities entering Malaysia. University of Nottingham is top-20 British school with a branch campus outside Kuala Lumpur. Opened in 2000, the University serves a 4,000-strong student body. University of Nottingham developed a research portfolio heavy on agricultural sciences, a specialization that could not be replicated in its urban U.K. campus.
University of Southampton Malaysia Campus (USMC)
Xiamen University Malaysia Campus
Raffles University Iskandar (RUI)
University of Reading, Malaysia UORM	2013

As in 2016, Malaysia has :
1) 414 Private colleges
2) 37 Private universities
3) 10 Private University-colleges
4) 1 Public University-college
5) 10 Foreign branch campus
6) 20 Public universities
 

An Estimation of Education Cost for a
Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Arts & Business (per year)
in Various Countries
Source : Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia

Internationalization of an university
For established universities, transnational initiatives are generally a high-risk, high-reward gamble. There is much to be gained for a school that sets up a campus in another country, and motivations tend to fall into some combination of four categories:
1) Public service
2) Increased revenue
3) Reputation
4) Internationalization of the university.

 

International Branch Campuses - Borderless Higher Education in Malaysia
Universities across the globe have now established well over 200 foreign campuses, up from 82 in 2006, according to the U.K.based Observatory on Borderless Higher Education.
Some of these struggling International Branch Campuses can be found in the United Arab Emirates, where their overall number dropped from 40 in 2009 to 37 in 2011, but East Asia is fast becoming the world’s leading destination for new international campuses.
In the same two-year period, Singapore saw a 50% increase to 18 campuses in total and China saw a 70% increase to 17 schools.
With China strictly controlling entrance into its education sector, Malaysia and Singapore are pushing to become regional hubs for higher education, starting with International Branch Campuses IBCs.
Malaysia government hopes to establish as many foreign campuses as possible, as long as the original school has a high enough international ranking and a good reputation. Malaysia already has seven International Branch Campuses IBCs, and is currently reviewing applications for 25 more.

Studying in a foreign country is an ambition to many students, but taking into consideration the economic situation, immigration laws and the standard of education available in western countries, many potential students and their parents have made practicality an important consideration.

One of the ways to overcome restraints – finances and opportunities – is to consider pursuing a course at one of the branch campuses of foreign universities in Malaysia.

Branch campuses are local chapters of overseas universities, providing similar programmes and academic opportunities as those available at their mother university. They do all these and more while offering students a cheaper alternative to getting a certificate from an internationally-renowned institution.

Enrolling at a branch campus could save students up to 30 per cent or even more on tuition fees compared to the main campus; this is not including living expenses and miscellaneous expenditure that students would face throughout their university years.
Aside from the obvious benefits of lowered costs and ease of transportation, other perks of foreign branch campuses are the accessibility to a mature internal academic support system, a large network of alumni and postgraduates who continue to contribute to the university financially and academically, and access to a wider variety of facilities rather than only what is available at the local campus.
Each foreign branch has its own advantages that attract students to it, be it a programme unavailable elsewhere, an opportunity to study overseas for a semester or specific access to facilities and databases.

Fulfilling a niche: Obtaining a degree from a foreign branch university does not preclude fitting into the Malaysian professional scene upon graduation just because the programmes have an overseas basis. A fairly new addition to the foreign campuses on our shore,

Other institutions may also give you an opportunity to spend a portion of your studies at the main campus or another branch campus in a different country for a significantly reduced price.
Unique programmes: If recognition outside of Malaysia is what you’re looking for with your degree, the foreign branch campuses will be able to fulfill that requirement. Accreditation by the relevant industrial bodies is a pertinent aspect that potential students should certainly take into consideration.
The content of programmes offered at branch campuses are often quite specialized, and the programmes offered themselves may not be available elsewhere.
The international influence is visible in the approach taken to teaching and learning, another aspect that some students may find attractive.

Strong affiliations: Foreign branch campuses have the added advantage of collaborations and affiliations inherited from the main institution or forged themselves thanks to the existing reputation of their parent institution.
A worthwhile option: Foreign branch campuses are not merely another extension of an institution in another country, but instead an institution that carries with it the experience and maturity of its parent campus while adapting to the demands of the local market.

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