Although traditionally every young Thai person’s dream has been to study abroad in a country like the USA, Britain or Australia, the realities of issues like the financial downturn of the late 1990s, ‘9-11’ and war in Iraq forced many to reconsider their educational goals. As a result, numbers of Thai students studying abroad plummeted as many chose to stay at home. Losing valuable revenue streams, foreign universities got creative. Rather than fighting over fewer Thai foreign students, they changed tactics and began to look at opportunities actually here in Thailand. As a result, some of the world’s leading universities now either have a campus in Thailand or are attached to a Thai university where they offer ‘International’ degree programs. The benefits to Thai students of having world-class higher education on their doorstep are obvious, but there have been substantial benefits for Thailand as a whole – the Kingdom has become a hub for foreign students who want to receive an international-standard higher education. Students from places like China, Taiwan, former Eastern bloc countries, Scandinavia, and increasingly, Europe, the United States and Great Britain, take university courses in Thailand to enjoy the benefits of standard, lower cost (particularly in terms of cost of living and educational fees) and the ability to simply be able to enjoy Thailand while they study. Most universities require some formal indication of English language capability and increasingly this means students taking an IELTS test. Click here to learn more about the IELTS listening, reading, writing and speaking test. What follows are details of some of Thailand’s leading universities offering ‘International’ programs:
