With over 36,000 enrolled students, Chiang Mai University Thailand is one of the largest and most well-regarded universities in the South East Asian region.

Chiang Mai University (CMU) is a public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964 with a strong emphasis on engineering, scientific, and agriculture. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, professional and continuing education offered through resident instruction. Its main campus lies between Chiang Mai downtown and Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Province.

The university is the first institute of higher education in Northern Thailand, and the first provincial university in Thailand. CMU recently set up the Technology Development Center for Industry (TDCI) to provide a one-stop interface with industry. It is also chairing the Chiang Mai Creative City Development Committee.

Campuses

Chiang Mai University has four campuses, three of them in Chiang Mai and one in Lamphun, which together cover about 3,490 acres (14.1 km2) of land. There are 18 housing complexes located on campus for students attending the university; 17 of them are on main campus and one in Mae Hea campus.

Suan Sak Campus (main campus)

The main university campus, known as Suan Sak campus or Cherng Doi, lies about five kilometres west of the city center. Set against Doi Suthep, the campus occupies a 725-acre (2.93 km2) site, bounded on three sides by main shopping streets and on the fourth by the Chiang Mai Zoo. The campus includes the University’s administrative centre, the Science, Engineering, Humanities, and Social Sciences faculties, Political Science and Public Administration, Law, the Graduate School, all of the Campus Resource Facilities and Services and major sports facilities. An attractive feature of this campus is the Ang Kaew Reservoir. Constructed to supply water for the University, it is also a recreational area for campus residents and the local community. In the 1960s, the area was still forested. With conservation in mind, the University buildings were constructed between the trees, with the result that the campus still retains much of its original setting.