Universiti Malaya

University of Malaya

Universiti Malaya
Coat of Arms of UM
Former names	Malaya University (MU)
Motto in English	Knowledge is the Source of Progress
Type	Public
Established	1st January 1962,
Chancellor	Sultan Nazrin Shah
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Dr. Mohd. Amin Jalaludin (Since Nov 2013 - Reappointment: Nov 2016- Apr 2017)
Academic staff	2,613 (AY 2010)
Administrative staff	590 (AY 2010)
Students	27000
Undergraduates	8300 (Feb. 2016)
Postgraduates	9280 (Feb. 2016)
Location	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3°07′15″N 101°39′23″E / 3.12083°N 101.65639°E / 3.12083; 101.65639Coordinates: 3°07′15″N 101°39′23″E / 3.12083°N 101.65639°E / 3.12083; 101.65639
Campus	Urban
Colours	Red, gold and blue
Affiliations	ACU, APRU, ASAIHL, AUN, FUIW,APUCEN
Website	www.um.edu.my

The University of Malaya (UM; Malay: Universiti Malaya) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and most esteemed university in Malaysia. The university's name was abbreviated as Malaya during the pre-independence period.

University of Malaya has its roots in Singapore with the establishment of King Edward VII College of Medicine in 1905. University Malaya was established on 1949 October in Singapore with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine and Raffles College (founded 1929). The growth of the University was very rapid during the first decade of its foundation and this resulted in the setting up of two autonomous Divisions on 15 January 1959, one located in Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur. In 1960, the government of the two indicated that the two divisions of the University of Malaya should become autonomous separate national universities, one located in Singapore (later becoming the National University of Singapore) and the other in Kuala Lumpur (retaining the name University of Malaya). Legislation was passed in 1961 and the University of Malaya was established on 1 January 1962.

Today, it has more than 2,500 faculty members. In 2012, UM was granted autonomy status by the Ministry of Higher Education. Presently, the University is divided into 12 faculties, 2 academies and 3 Centres, namely: Faculty of Law, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Built Environment, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Faculty of Business and Accountancy, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Academy of Malay Studies, Academy of Islamic Studies, Cultural Centre, Sports Centre and Centre for Foundation Studies (University of Malaya).

In 2015, the QS World University Rankings has ranked UM at the 146th place in the world. Also in the same year, the university is ranked 29th place in the QS Asian University Rankings, 3rd in Southeast Asia and is the highest ranked learning institution in Malaysia.

The establishment of the university began with the issue of shortage of medical assistants in Singapore and Penang during the late 1890s. The problem was addressed in a report published by the Education Commission in April 1902. In the report, it was stated that the Commission was in favour of establishing a medical school to fulfil the demand for medical assistants in government hospitals. However, such view was not in favour among the European community.