Malaysia

Studying in Malaysia

Education System

Education in Malaysia may be obtained from government-sponsored schools, private schools or through home schooling. It broadly consists of a set of stages which include:

• Pre-school
• Primary education
• Secondary education
• Tertiary education
• Postgraduate

Pre-University

Broadly speaking, you can choose amongst the following Pre-University programmes:

• STPM / Form 6 (Malaysian)
• Malaysian Matriculation / Matrikulasi (Malaysian)
• Foundation Studies
• Diploma Courses
• A-level
• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• Australian Matriculation (SAM / AUSMAT)
• Canadian Pre-University (CPU)
• American Degree Programme (ADP)

Tertiary Education

Malaysian government formed the Ministry of Higher Education in 2004 to oversee tertiary education in Malaysia. Tertiary education in Malaysian public universities is heavily subsidized by the government. Applicants to public universities must have completed the Malaysia matriculation programme or have an STPM grade.

Students also have the choice of attending private institutions of higher learning. Many of these institutions offer courses in cooperation with a foreign institute or university.

Many private colleges offer programmes whereby the student does part of his degree course locally and part of it in another country. This method is named "twinning".

Postgraduate Programmes

All public and most private universities in Malaysia offer Master degrees in Science, Arts and Commerce either through coursework or research and Doctor of Philosophy degrees through research.

Vocational Programmes and Polytechnics Schools

Besides the university degrees, students also have the option of continuing their education in professional courses. Polytechnics in Malaysia provide courses for diploma level (3 years) and certificate level (2 years).

International Schools

International schools offer students the opportunity to study the curriculum of another country. These schools mainly cater to the growing expatriate population in the country.

Tuition Fees

The favourable currency exchange rate in Malaysia means that the cost of education (both tuition and living expenses) is still cheaper than other popular study destinations such as UK, Australia, US and Canada.

Private Institutions

Studying in private colleges and universities in Malaysia are usually more expensive than the Government-funded institutions. However, since there are limited placements for Bachelor degree courses at government funded institutions, the private higher educational institutions are actually playing a greater role in offering study opportunities.

Government Funded Universities and Institutions

Malaysia has local public Universities, university colleges and international university providing undergraduate (First Bachelor Degree) and postgraduate studies (Master's degree and PhD). The general entry requirement for the undergraduate studies is STPM qualification or pre-university programme or its equivalent.