Universiti Putra Malaysia

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**Universiti Putra Malaysia**
Established
Type	Public
Chancellor	DYMM Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-haj Sultan Selangor
Location	Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Campus	Main campus in Serdang
Website	http://www.upm.edu.my

Universiti Putra Malaysia (Malay: universiti, university; putra, prince; Malaysia) or UPM is a public university in Malaysia. It was formerly known as Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Malay: universiti, university; pertanian, agriculture; Malaysia). UPM was founded in 1971 through the merger of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Malaya and the Agriculture College in Serdang, Selangor state. The three foundation faculties were: Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry, and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. UPM maintains its traditional educational role by focussing its tertiary level research on agriculture and related areas.

In the early 1980’s, UPM expanded its scope by including science and technology in its fields of studies. In 1994 UPM began acting on its aspiration to become the University of the Next Millennium. In line with this vision, its name was changed to Universiti Putra Malaysia by Malaysia’s then Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on April 3, 1997. UPM was renamed in honour of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysia's first Prime Minister. The renaming was looked upon as a strategic move in preparing UPM to become a versatile higher learning institution aligned with Malaysia’s strategic plans in dynamic high-technology. It lies near the heart of the Multimedia Super Corridor, the first large-scale high-technology initiative of the Malaysian government, and near Putrajaya town. The latter, too, was named after Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj.

[edit] Development

UPM began its academic life in 1973 with three founding Faculties and a Division of Basic Sciences. The first intake of 1,559 students were for the Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Diploma in Home Technology, Diploma in Animal Health and Production, Diploma in Science with Education, and Preliminary Programme. Currently UPM offers 73 Bachelor's degree programmes, eight Diploma programmes, and 12 Masters and Doctoral programmes. There are 15 Faculties, eight Centres, six Institutes, two Schools, a University Park and a branch campus in Bintulu, Sarawak.

Graduate School of Management (GSM) of UPM being rated as the best MBA school in Malaysia by Asia Inc Magazine. Besides, GSM is the only Malaysia MBA school listed in BusinessWeek Yearly MBA Ranking.

Faculty of Agriculture
Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology
Faculty of Design and Architecture
Faculty of Economics and Management
Faculty of Educational Studies
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Environmental Studies
Faculty of Food Science and Technology
Faculty of Forestry
Faculty of Human Ecology
Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science (Bintulu Campus)
Faculty of Social Science and Management (Bintulu Campus)

Alumni Centre
Academic Development Centre
Islamic Centre
Profesional Advancement Centre (PACE)
Research Management Centre (RMC)
Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Art and Cultural Centre
University Business Centre
Centre for External Education

Institute of Advanced Technology
Institute of Bioscience
Institute of Multimedia and Software
Institute of Community and Peace Studies
Institute of Gerontology
Institute of Interim Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Biotechnology
Institutes of Mathematical Research

University Agriculture Park

Graduate School of Studies
Graduate School of Management (GSM)

Rainforest Academy
Sports Academy

UPM Bintulu Sarawak Campus

[edit] History

One can trace the origins of Universiti Putra Malaysia to the School of Agriculture officially instituted on 21 May, 1931 by John Scott, an administrative officer of the British colonial Straits Settlements. The School was located on a 22-acre spread in Serdang, Selangor state. The School began by offering the three-year Diploma program and a one-year Certificate course. By 1941 the School had succeeded in training 321 officers, with 155 having obtained the Diploma and 166 the Certificate. This school was, on 23 June, 1942, declared to be the College of Agriculture Malaya by Sir Edward Gent, the Governor of the Malayan Union. In 1948 it was proposed that this College be upgraded to a University. The proposal, however, was shelved with the declaration of the Malayan Emergency in the middle of that same year.

In 1960 the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Malaya was established. On 1 January, 1962 a statute was approved to make the Council of the College of Agriculture Malaya an authority of the University of Malaya.

The formation of an agricultural university providing programs of study at the degree level was suggested by the then Honorable Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Haji Abdul Razak Hussein, on 31 March, 1969 at the opening ceremony of the additional wing to the College of Agriculture Malaya at Serdang, Selangor.

The establishment of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia finally culminated with the enacting of the Incorporation Order signed by His Majesty The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong as provided for under the Universities and University Colleges Act, 1971, and published in the Government Gazette as P.U.(A) 387 dated 29 October, 1971. The said Incorporation Order provides as follows :

"There shall be a higher educational institution having the status of University, which shall be a body corporate for the purpose of providing, promoting and developing higher education in the fields of Agriculture, Forestry, Veterinary Science, Natural Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Technology, Social Sciences, Humanities and Education as well as to provide for research and the accumulation and advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of such knowledge in the aforesaid fields of study."

The creation of this University was based on the merger of the College of Agriculture Malaya with the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Malaya. Dr. Mohd. Rashdan bin Haji Baba was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor by virtue of the provisions of section 18 of the Universities and University Colleges Act, 1971.

Universiti Pertanian Malaysia embarked on its first academic session in July 1973 with three foundation faculties: the Faculty of Agriculture, the Faculty of Forestry, and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. Beside the three faculties there was a Basic Sciences Division. The pioneer student enrolment was 1,559.

In the early eighties, however, UPM expanded its areas of concentration by including Science and Technology subjects in its fields of study. In 1994 UPM embarked on its ambitious plan to develop into a futuristic university. It would provide better and up-to-date skills and systems for science and technology education. To do so, it would take full advantage of the rapid development in information technology. UPM thereafter transformed itself into a borderless campus, its name and reputation stretching far beyond Malaysian boundaries.

The climax of the transformation came with the changing of the name from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia to Universiti Putra Malaysia, in honour of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj. The change was officially announced on 3rd April 1997 by the then Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad. This was a strategic way of portraying the status of UPM as a center of higher education capable of providing various fields of study deemed necessary to facilitate national development in the new millennium. This was especially true of UPM's provisions for studies in Information Technology (IT).

The University, since its inception as Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, has had two branch campuses apart from the main campus at Serdang, Selangor. The UPM branch campuses were located in Bintulu, Sarawak and Mengabang Telipot, Terengganu. The campus in Terengganu, however, has been upgraded to the University College of Science and Technology Malaysia (KUSTEM), with its own management and administration. KUSTEM officially broke away from UPM on 1st July, 2001.