Mahasarakham University is a Thai public university in Maha Sarakham Province, about 470 kilometres from Bangkok. In 2016 its enrolment was 40,759 students. MSU is the only Thai university to offer postgraduate programs in paleontology and a bachelor of arts in the Khmer language. It was the first Isan university to offer a BA accounting and the second to offer PhD courses in the same subject. Its Faculty of Education, the flagship of MSU, was voted Thailand's Best Education Faculty in 2010 by the National Education Office. The university is the first Thai higher education institution rated under the QS Stars System for excellence in higher education. It has become one of the top 20 universities in Thailand based on the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.
History
The development of Mahasarakham University can be traced back to 1963 when it was known as "Mahasarakham Teacher's Training College". On 27 March 1968, it was established as Mahasarakham College of Education for strengthening and expanding higher education in the of the nation. Located in the outer north area of, a small town right at the center of the region, the college has been responsible for developing quality educators to serve educational institutions of all levels. In 1974, the college's status was elevated when it became a regional campus of Srinakharinwirot University. At that time, there were four academic faculties: education, humanities, social sciences, and science. In 1994, the college gained its statutory status through the Thai Higher Education Act and became Mahasarakham University, the 22nd public university of Thailand Mahasarakham University has since expanded rapidly in academic infrastructure, facilities, and relevant services. It became a comprehensive university, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in three academic clusters: social sciences; pure and applied sciences; and health sciences. In 1988, the Kham Riang Campus, known as the New Campus, was established, approximately seven kilometres from the Old Campus. With 17 faculties and two colleges, the university has been recognized as one of Thailand's fastest growing. The total student enrolment has increased from thousands in its earlier years to about 40,000 students in 2016. To extend its academic services to remote communities, MSU has had 15 academic service centers in the northeastern region, later reorganized into two centres in Nakhon Ratchasima Province and Udon Thani Province. As a regional education center, Maha Sarakham is known as the " of ".
Campuses
The university has two campuses: the Old Campus in Maha Sarakham city center and the New Campus in the Kham Riang Sub-district of Kantharawichai District. The New Campus is now the administrative headquarters of the university.
Downtown campus
The original campus of Mahasarakham University, Downtown Campus, also known as the Old Campus, is in the city center. It covers an area of 368 rai. This campus hosts the Faculty of Education, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, and the Institute of Northeastern Arts and Culture.
Kham Riang campus
The Kham Riang Campus, known as the New Campus, is in the northwest of the city of Kham Riang District, seven kilometres from the city centre. This campus with a total area of 1,300 rai hosts new buildings and facilities to serve the education community and houses the main administrative center and most of the academic faculties, colleges, and research institutes of the university.
Academic divisions
MSU has 18 faculties, two colleges, and nine research centres.
