Chulalongkorn
University is a public and autonomous research university in Bangkok,
Thailand. The university was originally founded during King
Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training royal pages and civil
servants in 1899 (B.E. 2442) at the Grand Palace of Thailand. It was
later established as a national university in 1917, making it the oldest
institute of higher education in Thailand.
During the reign of Chulalongkorn's son, King Vajiravudh, the Royal
Pages School became the Civil Service College of King Chulalongkorn. The
Rockefeller Foundation was instrumental in helping the college form its
academic foundation. On 26 March 1917, King Vajiravudh renamed the
college "Chulalongkorn University".
Chulalongkorn University is a comprehensive and research-intensive
university. It is ranked as the best university in Thailand in many
surveys, quality of students, quality of research, quality in particular
subjects, university reputation, environmental management systems.
According to QS world university ranking 2017, CU is placed 245th in the
world, 45th in Asia, 1st in Thailand, and 201–250 in the world graduate
employability ranking. It is also ranked as Thailand's No. 1 university
from various organizers such as Center for World University Rankings,
Round university ranking, Academic Ranking of World Universities.
Chulalongkorn University is one of the National Research Universities
and supported by the Office of Nation Education Standards and Quality
Assessment of Thailand. Moreover, CU is the only Thai university which
is a member of Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU).
Admission to CU is highly selective, and applicants are required to have
high test scores. Applicants ranking in the top 10 national scores are
chosen for study at CU.
CU is composed of nineteen faculties, a School of Agriculture, three
colleges, ten institutes and two other schools. Its campus occupies a
vast area in downtown Bangkok. Graduates customarily receive their
diplomas from the King of Thailand, a tradition begun by King
Prajadhipok (Rama VII).