After decades of military repressions and power struggle, Myanmar has started opening to the world slowly but steadily. Interestingly, the country now occupies one of the top places in the world in terms of freedom of speech. Until 1989, this Asian country was known as Burma. Even today, Myanmar’s people are referred to as “The Burmese”.
In 1989, the military junta that had seized the power from the colonial government renamed the country’s capital from Rangoon to Yangon. Since 2006, Myanmar has had a brand-new capital city called Naypyidaw. Myanmar is the largest landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Currently, it’s got more than 60 different universities. In the paragraphs that follow, we shall have a quick look at the seven cheapest universities in Myanmar.
Cheapest Universities in Myanmar
1. Yangon University
- Tuition fee for undergraduate international students: $1,200 a year
- Tuition fee for graduate international students: $2,700 a year
- Tuition fees for international Ph.D. Students: $4,500 a year
Yangon University is Myanmar’s oldest and most prestigious higher education provider. Its beginnings can be traced back to 1878. In the 2018-2019 academic year, the university had a total of 15,000 full-time students. They study at two main campuses – the campus in Yangon, on the southwestern bank of Inya Lake, and the Hlaing Campus, located northwards of the Main Campus.
This cheap university in Myanmar is currently organized into twenty academic departments, each offering Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. programs. Some of the most popular programs include a B.Sc. Program in Botany and Microbiology, a graduate program in Computer Science, and a BSc Program in Industrial Chemistry.
2. Mandalay University
- Tuition fee for undergraduate international students: $1,100 a year
- Tuition fee for graduate international students: $2,500 a year
- Tuition fees for international Ph.D. Students: $4,350 a year
Mandalay University is a public university in Mandalay, Myanmar. Established in 1925, it is also the second oldest university in the country. The academic focus of this higher education provider is on Liberal Arts. Yet, the university also offers Master’s programs in Business Administration and Applied Psychology.
Mandalay University now has 18 different departments, including a Department of Zoology and a Department of Oriental Studies. The university’s graduate and undergraduate programs in the field of Archology are also very popular across Asia.
3. Yezin Agricultural University
- Tuition fee for undergraduate international students: $900 a year
- Tuition fee for graduate international students: $1,100 a year
- Tuition fees for international Ph.D. Students: Not listed
The Yezin Agricultural University is one of the main hubs of agricultural and farming education in Myanmar. Its importance lends itself to the fact that the country’s agricultural sector is still underdeveloped, and it desperately needs rapid industrialization.
The university’s academic focus is on the development of new methods of crop-growing and farm management. This cheap university in Myanmar became an independent higher education provider in 1973. Today, it is one of the most selective universities in the country, admitting only 250 freshmen a year.
4. Yangon Technological University
- Tuition fee for undergraduate international students: $950 a year
- Tuition fee for graduate international students: $1,100 a year
- Tuition fees for international Ph.D. Students: $2,000
Yangon Technological University is perhaps the best place to study engineering in Myanmar. Although the beginnings of this higher education provider can be traced back to 1924, it has been known under its current name since 1990.
Today, the Yangon Technical University has got about 2,500 full-time students that are being trained at eighteen academic departments. Each department offers its own set of graduate and undergraduate programs. Most of these programs are in the field of Engineering, but there are also programs in Agriculture and Mining.
5. Myanmar Imperial University
- Tuition fee for undergraduate international students: $850 a year
- Tuition fee for graduate international students: $1,150 a year
- Tuition fees for international Ph.D. Students: $2,400
Myanmar Imperial University is the only private higher education provider on our list. It was founded in 2004 and today its academic focus is on Business and Finance. MIU, as this university is also known for short, offers three very popular Bachelor’s programs – Business, Hospitality & Tourism, Arts & Design, and Marketing & Branding.
The Myanmar Imperial University operates as a franchise of the University of Northampton in the UK, and its English Language Program has been certified by Pearson Education. There are currently over 1,800 full-time students at MIU. Over a thousand of them are undergraduates and the rest are enrolled in Master’s or Ph.D. programs.
6. Technological University, Kyaukse
- Tuition fee for undergraduate international students: $1,260 a year
- Tuition fee for graduate international students: $1,300 a year
- Tuition fees for international Ph.D. Students: $2,800
The Technological University in Kyaukse (KTU) was established in 1998. Today, KTU is organized into six faculties, each providing a wide variety of different graduate and undergraduate programs in the field of Engineering.
Each program at this cheap university in Myanmar has got a preparatory stage, at which students are taught core courses which provide them with some basic knowledge of Science and Engineering. Then, students can choose from a wide selection of elective study courses and modules.
7. University of Medicine Yangon
- Tuition fee for undergraduate international students: $1,500 a year
- Tuition fee for graduate international students: $2,000 a year
- Tuition fees for international Ph.D. Students: $3,500 a year
University of Medicine 1, Yangon is the best medical school in Myanmar and one of the most popular medical schools in Southeast Asia. With an average acceptance rate of about ten percent, this is also one of the most selective medical universities in the world. Since its establishment in 1924, the University of Medicine 1, Yangon has developed an elaborate seven-year program that takes the students from Bachelor of Science to full Medical Doctor.
Conclusion
All of the above tuition fees have been listed in Myanmar’s national currency, Kyat, and have subsequently been converted to USD. Also, it is worth mentioning that tuition fees at Myanmar’s universities are charged per month of study, while one academic year has twelve months, just like the calendar year. Due to the English colonial rule of Myanmar, the instruction language at its universities is English.
We hope that this article on cheap universities in Myanmar was helpful. If you are interested in studying abroad, check out the Available Programs for International Students!
