University of Putra Malaysia (Malay: Universiti Putra Malaysia), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. It was formerly 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 UPM comprises 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 enabling it to compete among local universities.

History

On 21 May 1931, UPM was established as the School of Agriculture, located in Serdang on 22 acres (9 hectares) of land. The institution initially offered only two programmes: 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 the Malayan Union, Sir Edward Gent.

On 29 October 1971, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (literally "Agricultural University of Malaysia") was officially established through the merger of the College of Agriculture Malaya and the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Malaya. UPM began with three faculties: agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine. On 23 July 1973, UPM opened its first academic session with an intake of 1,559 students. Four years later, on 30 July 1977, the university held its first convocation ceremony, during which Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah was installed as UPM's first Chancellor.

On 3 April 1997, UPM was renamed Universiti Putra Malaysia by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The change reflected the university’s diversification into broader fields of study, particularly in science and technology. The word "Putra" honours Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, and also reflects the university’s proximity to Putrajaya. To correspond with the new name, UPM also adopted a new logo.

List of chancellors and vice-chancellors #ChancellorsTerm in office 1 Sultan Salahuddin of Selangor1 January 1977 – 30 July 1993 2 Hamdan Sheikh Tahir the Governor of Penang1 August 1993 – 31 March 2002 3 Sultan Sharafuddin of Selangor1 April 2002 – Incumbent

#Vice-ChancellorsAcademic qualificationTerm in office 1 Mohd Rashdan Baba Diploma of Agriculture (College of Agriculture Malaya), Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Reading), PhD in Agricultural Science (Leeds). 2 Nayan Ariffin Diploma in Agriculture (College of Agriculture Malaya), Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Louisiana), Master of Education in Advanced Science (Louisiana), PhD in Extension Education (Wisconsin).1 March 1982 – 4 June 1994 3 Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Punjab), Master in Animal Science (London), PhD in Animal Science (London).5 June 1994 – 17 April 2001 4 Zohadie Bardaie Diploma of Agriculture (UPM), Bachelor of Science in engineering (California), Master of Engineering (California), PhD of Agricultural Engineering (Cornell).18 April 2001 – 31 December 2005 5 Nik Mustapha Raja Abdullah Diploma of Agriculture (UPM), Bachelor of Economics (California), Master of Agricultural Science (Oregon), PhD of economics (Oregon).1 January 2006 – 31 December 2010 6 Radin Umar Radin Sohadi Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Sheffield), Master of Engineering (Sheffield), PhD of engineering (Birmingham).1 January 2011 – 31 December 2012 7 Mohd Fauzi Ramlan Diploma of Agriculture (UPM), Bachelor of Science in agronomy (Iowa), Master of Science (Louisiana), PhD in biology (York).1 January 2013 – 31 December 2015 8 Aini Ideris Bachelor of Veterinary Medication (UPM), Master of Veterinary Science (Liverpool), PhD in Veterinary Science (UPM).1 January 2016 – 30 June 2020 9 Roslan Sulaiman Bachelor of Veterinary Medication (UPM), PhD in Nervous System Physiology (Edinburgh).1 September 2020 – 31 August 2023 10 Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah Bachelor of Civil Engineering (CUA), Master of Transportation (Imperial), PhD in Transportation Studies (UCL).2 October 2023 – 18 September 2026 11 Arifin Abdu Bachelor of Forestry (Forest Managment), Master of Forestry (UPM), PhD of Forestry Rehabilitation and Sustainability (Japan) 18 September-present

Campus

Apart from its main campus in Serdang, UPM also operates a branch campus in Bintulu, Sarawak. In June 1987, the National Resources Training Centre was relocated to Bintulu from its temporary campus in Kuching. On 27 August 1987, the Bintulu campus officially became a branch campus of UPM, abbreviated as UPMKB. Today, the campus comprises two 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. It offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with a total student population of around 1,600.

UPM previously maintained another branch campus in Mengabang Telipot, Kuala Terengganu, from 1996 until the establishment of Terengganu University College in 1999. Originally functioning as the Centre for Fisheries and Marine Science under UPM, the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science was moved to Kuala Terengganu in June 1996, where it was upgraded into a UPM branch campus. On 5 May 1999, the campus was renamed Terengganu University College and became an associate campus of UPM. In 2001, it was granted autonomy and renamed Malaysian Science and Technology University College. In 2007, it achieved full university status as the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.

Academic profile UPM began its academic life in 1973 with three founding Faculties and a Division of Basic Sciences. The first intake of 1,559 students was for bachelor's degrees in Agricultural Science or Forestry Science, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Diploma in Home Technology, Diploma in Animal Health and Production, Diploma in Science with Education, and Preliminary Programme. As of 2024, UPM has 15 faculties, 11 institutes and 2 schools, offers 10 diploma programmes, 81 bachelor programmes, 75 Masters programmes by coursework and more than 300 fields of study in Master and Doctoral programmes by research. The Doctor of Medicine program provided by university was fully recognised by the Malaysia Medical Council on 5 June 2001. The School of Business and Economics (previously Faculty of Economics and Management) has been accredited by AACSB in 2012, EQUIS in 2022, and AMBA in 2025, became the only triple crown business school in Malaysia.

Faculties, schools and institutes As of February 2024, UPM has 15 faculties, 11 institutes and 2 schools.

Campus life

Residential colleges

The accommodation units in UPM are called "colleges", however, the colleges are not related to education, but built to provide accommodation for students, known as "residential college" or kolej kediaman. Before the UPM's Governance Transformation Plan, there were 17 residential colleges in Serdang campus and one in Bintulu campus. The residential colleges in Serdang campus can be divided into four zone, which are lembah, pinggiran, bukit and serumpun.

The Mohamad Rashid College (KMR) is the oldest residential college in UPM, it was once named as Kolej Kediaman Pertama. After it was renovated, it has been transformed into KMR OnePUTRA Residence and managed by UPM Holdings since 2019.

The Tenth College (K10) and the Tan Sri Mustaffa Babjee College (KMB) are two colleges at zon pinggiran because they are distant from other colleges, located at northeast and southwest of UPM respectively. K10 accommodate the students from Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Design and Architecture while KMB accommodates the students from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The Twelfth College (K12) and Fourteenth College (K14) are located at zon serumpun and known as "Serumpun Colleges". They are built by PJS Development, a private construction company through the form of BOT. Currently, part of Serumpun zone is now included into Tan Sri Aishah Ghani College as KTAG zone B.

The Tan Sri Aishah Ghani College (KTAG), formerly known as Thirteen College (K13) and Kolej Matrikulasi (KOMAT), has undergone several mergers and name changes over the years.

The Sri Rajang College (KSR) is the only residential college in Bintulu campus, consists of 10 blocks that could accommodate up to 1,560 students.

The Governance Transformation Plan in 2019 has restructured the residential colleges in Serdang campus. Most of them have been merged with another college to save costs and improve administrative efficiency. As of 2024, the list of residential colleges which are managed by UPM is as follow:

Libraries

UPM has one main library and three branch libraries in Serdang campus, and one library in Bintulu campus.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Library (Malay: Perpustakaan Sultan Abdul Samad, abbreviation: PSAS) is the main library of UPM. It existed before the establishment of UPM in 1971. The library was renamed the Sultan Abdul Samad Library and inaugurated on 23 May 2002, named after Sultan Abdul Samad, the fourth Sultan of Selangor. PSAS consists of block A and B (completed in 1982 and 1969 respectively), with total floor area of 19,007 square metres. The Anjung Siswazah located at block B is a space specially for postgraduate students, its collection are including printed materials, media and electronics.

Another three branch libraries in Serdang campus are Medicine and Health Sciences Library (1998), Veterinary Medicine Library (1999), and Engineering and Architecture Library (2008). The library in Bintulu start operating when the campus was reopened in 2001. The operating hour of each library might varying based on the academic period of semester.

Main hall

The Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Arts and Cultural Centre (Malay: Pusat Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, abbreviation: PKKSSAAS) is the main hall in Serdang campus. It was completed in 1978 and known as the Great Hall of UPM (Dewan Besar UPM) before its name was changed. On 25 April 1996, the hall was inaugurated by Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, the eighth Sultan of Selangor. Since then, UPM renamed the Great Hall to its current name. PKKSSAAS is the venue for orientation, convocation, and even examinations.

The Experimental Theatre (Panggung Percubaan) is part of PKKSSAAS. It is a place for workshops on culture and arts, suitable for theatre performances and debate competition. It can also be used as a platform for the trial of performances.

Mosque The UPM Mosque (Malay: Masjid UPM) is the university mosque that built to fulfill the prayer needs of Muslim community from UPM and Taman Sri Serdang. The construction started in 1987 and completed in 1989, with total area of 9 hectares. The exterior design of the mosque is inspired by Saladin's war helmet, symbolising the spirit of Jihad in Islam. The mosque consists of 2 floors, able to congregate 9,500 people at the same time. The University Islamic Centre, founded on 1 October 1988, is responsible for managing the mosque and Islamic affairs of UPM.

Expo Hill