Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Universitas Gadjah Mada is one of the oldest and largest institutions of higher education in the country, and has been credited as one of the best universities in Indonesia. In the 2027 QS World University Rankings, UGM is ranked 2nd in Indonesia and 206th in the world.
During the period when native education was often restricted, the institution was the first to open its medicine to native Indonesians when it was founded in the 1940s under Dutch rule.
Comprising 18 faculties and 24 research centers, UGM offers 68 undergraduate, 23 diplomas, 104 master's and specialist, 43 doctorates, and 4 clusters of post-doctoral study programs. The university has enrolled approximately 55,000 students, 1,187 foreign students, and has 2,500 faculty members. UGM maintains a campus of , with facilities that include a stadium and a fitness center.
The university is named after Gajah Mada, the Prime Minister of the Majapahit Empire of Java in the 14th century, who is also considered to be the nation's first unifier by some historians. The spelling of the university's name still reflects the old Dutch-era spelling.
History
UGM was the first state university in Indonesia, established as Universiteit Negeri Gadjah Mada (UNGM) when Indonesia was still facing threats from the Netherlands, which wanted to regain control. At the time, the capital of Indonesia was temporarily moved from Jakarta to Yogyakarta.
UGM was established through Government Regulation (PP) No. 23 of 1949, regarding the merger of colleges to form a university. Although the regulations were dated 16 December, UGM's inauguration took place on 19 December, intentionally chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the Dutch invasion of Yogyakarta, exactly one year before. The intentional date was meant to show that one year after the Dutch had invaded the city, the Indonesian Government could establish its own national university there.
When it was founded, UGM had six faculties: Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy; Law, Economics, Social and Political Sciences; Engineering; Letters, Pedagogy and Philosophy; Agriculture; and Veterinary Medicine.
From 1952 until 1972, the Faculty of Law, Social and Political Sciences was split into two faculties: the Surabaya branch of the Faculty of Law, Social, and Political Sciences, which was integrated into University of Airlangga; and the Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, which was integrated into IKIP Yogyakarta (now Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta).
During its initial years of Dutch resistance, the university taught literature and law in the buildings and other facilities belonging to the palace of the Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX, who volunteered his palace for the university's use. UGM gradually established a campus of its own in Bulaksumur, on the northern side of Yogyakarta, and now occupies an area of three square kilometres.
Faculties and schools
The UGM main building is called the Balairung, a rectorate building, in Sleman. Nearby is the Grha Sabha Pramana, a large building utilized for graduation ceremonies, with an adjoining square used for sport and recreation. There is also a university library and a sports center, consisting of a stadium, tennis court, and basketball field. More recently, it has established Gelanggang Inovasi dan Kreativitas, a 48.760 m2 integrated complex of artistic spaces, green rooftop, and exhibition places.
Most of the main campus is located in Sleman, with the small parts (such as part of the Vocational College and part of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences) located within Yogyakarta city.
The UGM administration is divided into 18 faculties, offering study programs from the undergraduate to post-doctoral level. There is also a vocational school offering vocational study programmes.
Schools and faculties
Faculty of Biology Faculty of Philosophy Faculty of Geography Faculty of Agricultural Technology Faculty of Engineering Faculty of Psychology Faculty of Animal Science Faculty of Agriculture Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty of Law Faculty of Cultural Sciences Faculty of Social Science & Political Science Faculty of Dentistry Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing Faculty of Forestry Faculty of Pharmacy Faculty of Economics and Business Vocational College Graduate School
Jakarta campus In 2010, UGM established a branch campus in South Jakarta, Jakarta. Initially offering only MBA courses, now the campus also offers Master of Laws (LLM), and various Masters in Social and Political Sciences aimed at working professionals.
International programmes
UGM provides some major programs in English and admits international students. In 2018, 1,334 Asian students, 566 European students, 213 Australian/Oceanian students, 101 North American students, 58 African students, and 12 South American students studied in the 18 faculties of Gadjah Mada University.
Currently, International Undergraduate Programs are being offered in:
Faculty of Animal Science Faculty of Biology Faculty of Dentistry Faculty of Economics and Business Faculty of Engineering Faculty of Geography Faculty of Law Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing Faculty of Pharmacy Faculty of Psychology Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Vocational College
Several faculties such as the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, Faculty of Agricultural Technology and Faculty of Agricultural also offer International/Dual-degree offerings at the Postgraduate level.
Research centers UGM has 24 university-level research and study centers:
Achievements In 2013, UGM's chemistry undergraduate program received accreditation from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom, the largest European-based international organization devoted to the advancement of chemical science. This is the first international accreditation ever received by the university and was effective from 5 March 2013 to March 2018.
UGM currently has 96 internationally accredited programs, including those accredited by AACSB, ABET, IChemE, ASIIN, KAAB, AUN QA, IABEE, FIBAA and RSC.
Rankings
The university was the highest-ranked school in Indonesia for three consecutive years (from 2021 to 2023) in the QS World University Rankings. In 2027, it was ranked 206 in the world, this achievement was the highest ranking ever achieved by UGM in QS WUR in the last 17 years. As of 2025, five academic subject clusters—Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences & Management—have consistently ranked second nationally in Indonesia, while Life Sciences & Medicine ranked third.. In 2026, the highest-ranked subject was Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies ranked 45, meanwhile in 2022 ranked 47.
In 2022, (SDG 1: No Poverty) UGM was ranked in the top 10, in 2025 ranked 6, in 2026 ranked 7 the world (among 2.389 institutions) according to Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings which uses seventeen criterias of Sustainable Development Goals and UGM leading or outstanding performance in eleven criterias (SDG no 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16 and 17). In the world overall assessment, UGM was ranked 72 in 2020, ranked 83 in 2021, ranked 87 in 2022, ranked 82 in 2025 and ranked 41 in 2026.
In 2023 UGM was ranked 280–300 in the world according to QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2023 and also ranking 383 in 2025, 1st in Indonesia. UGM also ranked 1st in Indonesia and Southeast Asia in the Good Governance category.
Subject
QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026
World rankSubject45 Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies 51 – 100 Anthropology Development Studies101 – 150 Geography151 – 200 Law & Legal Studies History Archaeology English Language and Literature Modern Languages Politics & International Studies Agriculture & Forestry201 – 250 Economics & Econometrics Sociology Architecture & Built Environment Business & Management Studies Accounting & Finance251 – 300 Communication & Media Studies301 – 350 Electrical and Electronic Engineering351 – 400 Computer Science and Information Systems Pharmacy & Pharmacology Chemical Engineering Linguistics401 – 450 Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering Education & Training Medicine451 – 500 Chemistry501 – 550 Biological Sciences Environmental Sciences Mineral & Mining Engineering Mathematics551 – 600 Physics & Astronomy601 – 650
+ QS Rankings by Cluster (2026) Subject Global National 189 2 293 4 401-450 3 501-550 3 181 2
+ THE World University Rankings by Subject 2026 Subject Global National Arts & humanities Business & economics Computer science Engineering Law Life sciences Medical & Health Physical sciences Psychology Social sciences
Student life
Student orientation
Every year, UGM welcomes new undergraduate students by holding a one-week student orientation session called PPSMB (Pelatihan Pembelajar Sukses bagi Mahasiswa Baru Palapa, "Training for New Students to be Successful Learners") which involves a short course introducing UGM's common knowledge, values, rules, and soft-skill education. It was named PPSMB Palapa (named after Palapa oath) since its inception in 2012, before renamed to PPSMB Pionir () in 2023. On the last day of the program, there is a closing ceremony where students make a formation of a symbol or logo. In 2018, the students created a formation called Bersatu Nusantara Indonesia ("United Indonesian Archipelago") with the Indonesian national flag, to encourage a spirit of unity across differences in the country. In 2023, PPSMB broke a record for featuring ten different formations with just 30 minutes of preparation.
Community service
UGM organizes a community service called KKN-PPM (short for Kuliah Kerja Nyata-Pembelajaran Pemberdayaan Masyarakat or "Student Community Service-Community Empowerment Learning", in English), which is obligatory for undergraduate students. KKN-PPM is a research-based community service offered three times each academic year, in the middle of both the odd semester and the even semester, and between these two semesters. KKN-PPM UGM involves not only local students but also international academicians, including lecturers and students. In 2011, 150 international students from countries including South Korea, Australia, France, the United States, and Norway participated in KKN-PPM.
Other activities
The Sports Activities Unit is coordinated by the Secretariat of Joint Sports, and the Arts Unit is coordinated by the Joint Secretariat of Arts.
Sports activities include swimming, diving, inkai karate, kenpō, the Indonesian martial art pencak silat (including the variants of pencak silat merpati putih, self periasi pencak silat, pencak silat pro patria, and pencak silat setia hati terate), taekwondo, judo, hockey, soccer, softball, volleyball, basketball, athletics, equestrian, bridge, badminton, chess, and tennis.
Arts activities include Arts Style Yogyakarta (Swagayugama), Art Style Surakarta, Balinese dance, creative dance, photography, fine arts, Gamma Band, marching band, ‘’keroncong’’, student choir, theatre, and other arts.
Other activities include Publisher Student Press Agency, Mapagama, Student Health Unit, Scout, Satmenwa, Cooperative Students "Kopma UGM", and AIESEC.
Spirituality activities include the Unit of Islamic Spirituality (Jama'ah Shalahuddin), Unit of Catholic Spirituality, Christian Spirituality Unit, Hindu Spirituality Unit, Buddhism and Spiritual Unit.
Reasoning activities include the Interdisciplinary Unit of Scientific Reasoning, the Gama Scholar Reasoning Unit, and the English Debating Society.
Transportation