University of Putra Malaysia (Malay: Universiti Putra Malaysia), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University of Malaysia), focusing on agricultural sciences and related fields. Since the 1990s, the fields of study have expanded to include human ecology, languages, architecture, medicine, computer science and biotechnology. Currently there are 15 faculties, 11 institutes and 2 schools covering these as well as agriculture, forestry, veterinary medicine, economics, engineering, sciences, and education.
UPM has been recognised as a research university since 2006, one of five present in Malaysia. In 2010, self-accreditation status was awarded by Malaysian Qualifications Agency to simplify the procedure of accrediting academic programs, strengthening its own Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) system to compete among local universities.
It is ranked 123rd in the world in 2023 by Quacquarelli Symonds, 27th among Asian universities and the 2nd best university in Malaysia. In the Integrated Rating of Malaysian Institutions of Higher Education (SETARA), UPM maintains its six stars rating, which is "Highly Competitive".
History
On 21 May 1931, UPM was established as School of Agriculture, located on Serdang with 22 acres (9 hectares) of land. The only two programmes offered were a three-year diploma programme and a one-year certificate course in agriculture. On 23 June 1947, the school was upgraded to the College of Agriculture Malaya, as declared by the then Governor of Malayan Union, Sir Edward Gent.
On 29 October 1971, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (literally Agricultural University of Malaysia) was officially established through the merger of College of Agriculture Malaya and the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Malaya. UPM began with three faculties in the fields of agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine. On 23 July 1973, UPM had its first academic session with intake of 1,559 students. On 30 July 1977, UPM held the first convocation ceremony, which also declared the appointment of UPM's first Chancellor, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah.
On 3 April 1997, UPM changed its name to Universiti Putra Malaysia, declared by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia. The reason for changing name was to indicate UPM's diversification of the fields of study it offered, especially in Science and Technology. The word "Putra" is taken from Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia. One of the reasons the word "Putra" was chosen is because the location of UPM near to Putrajaya. To correspond with the new name, UPM changed the logo as well.
List of chancellors and vice-chancellors
Campus
Aside from the main campus in Serdang, UPM has a branch campus in Bintulu, Sarawak. In June 1987, the National Resources Training Centre relocated to Bintulu from its provisional campus in Kuching. On 27 August 1987, the campus in Bintulu became a branch campus of UPM, abbreviated as UPMKB. Currently the Bintulu campus consists of 2 faculties, the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences and the Faculty of Humanities, Management and Science, as well as one institute, the Institute of Ecosystem Science Borneo. The campus offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with approximately 1600 students in total.
UPM used to have another branch campus in Mengabang Telipot, Kuala Terengganu from 1996 until the establishment of Terengganu University College in 1999. Originally, it was the Centre for Fisheries and Marine Science under UPM. In June 1996, the UPM's Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science was transferred to Kuala Terengganu it was made into a branch campus of UPM. Starting from 5 May 1999, it was named Terengganu University College and became an associate campus of UPM. In 2001, it was given autonomy and renamed again as Malaysian Science and Technology University College. It has been upgraded to university status in 2007, as the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.