University of Science, Malaysia (USM): Courses, Admission, Cost

Nowadays higher education is very important for getting a good job. In that case the ranking of the university is a very good sign to judge the quality of a university and the probability of creating a better future for the students. If we look at the university’s profile of Malaysia, we can discover that this country’s top 10 universities keep their positions among the top 500 world universities and total 23 universities among top 1000 universities around the world.

*international universities

We see that the University of Science, Malaysia (USM) is one of the elite members of them. This university was established in 1969. This university has 3 campuses –

The main campus is on island of Penang the second one is a health campus in Kelantan, and the third one is an engineering campus in Nibong Tebal.

Available Programs and Courses

This prominent science university provides different programmes. These programmes are well-designed keeping in mind the fast-changing world of technologies and industries. The courses are planned to ignite the light of creative thinking among students to pull out the problem-solving mindset in any circumstance. They have both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Undergraduate programme

This university provides many undergraduate programmes which almost cover the necessary fields of the interests of the university students. The courses are

Costing

This public research university is very affordable for international students. Especially in Malaysia, the overall higher education for international students is much cheaper compared to other Asian countries. Not only the tuition fees but also the living cost, travel and shopping all here are very cheap. Students can easily save a huge amount of money from their expenditures; besides, they will be awarded with a world-class higher education degree.

The tuition fee for bachelor’s degrees will be between the range of 3,000 USD to 6,000 USD and for the post-graduation degree, it will be in total from 4,000 USD to 6,000 USD. For a PhD degree, it will be between 15,000 USD to 17,662.50 USD in total.

The living cost is very significant for international students. The estimated accommodation cost will be between 75 USD to 276 USD.
There are some other costs which a student will have to bear. USD 400 EMGS is necessary for the first time before entering Malaysia. 180 USD is for every year for renewal of the student pass. USD15.80 (RM60.00) per semester for health checkup fee.

Requirements

To be enrolled in this university students need to fulfil some requirements. These requirements are divided into 2 sections- academic and English language requirements.

Academic requirement

For a bachelor’s degree, students are required to have an HSC certificate or A-Level or Dhaki (Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board) or a diploma in the associated field. Students need to have a minimum GPA of 2.75 out of 5 to be successfully admitted into this university.

For a master’s degree, students need to have a minimum CGPA of 2.75 on a 4 point scale. But this may vary from course to course.

English language proficiency

For all the programmes in this university a student needs to have a minimum of IELTS 5.0 or 80 in TOEFL (Internet-based). Besides, all international students need to take part in a Bahasa Malaysia (LKM 100) course before graduation courses. This university also accepts MOI in English.

Need to mention that all the requirements may vary from course to course sometimes.

Admissions Process

There are different programmes available in the University of Science, Malaysia (USM). Hence, the admission process is also different.

There are nearly 300 programmes available in the University of Science, Malaysia (USM) at different campuses. The admission process is given below:

1. First, explore the options and choose a programme that matches the students’ interests.
2. Secondly, the students need to check the admission requirements because the admission requirements for each programme vary.
3. You can apply online which is open twice a year; January and July. Students must follow–

• Creating an account
• Submitting application form
• Attaching all the supporting documents

4. For Postgraduate and PhD programmes students have to submit a research proposal which should outline their research topic, research questions, and methodology.

5. Students may have to attend an interview session organized by the USM authority after being shortlisted.

6. After successfully completing all the admission processes students will receive an offer letter from USM and they need to pay the acceptance fee and other required documents asked by the university and the chosen program’s authority.

7. For an international student, the admissions process is kind of similar to the process for Malaysian students. However, they need to add some additional requirements–

• A copy of your passport
• A copy of your student visa (if applicable)
• A copy of your English language proficiency test results (IELTS most accessible)
• International students may also be required to attend an additional interview with the USM International Admission Office.

Intakes

This university has 2 intakes in October and March. The deadlines for the intakes are 13 July and 31 January respectively.

International student facilities

For international students this university has very good arrangements. To provide comfortable, study-friendly and security this university has both on-campus and off-campus accommodation facilities. Single room or twin-sharing room, common bathroom, cafeteria, laundry, study room, pantry and groceries store all sorts of facilities are available in both accommodation types.

To assist meritorious students and encourage them to have better further studies this university has many scholarships and financial assistance. Some of them have been mentioned below

• MALAYSIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP (MIS)
• Student Scholarship from Unplag
• GRADUATE STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE (GRA-ASSIST)
• POSTGRADUATE CONFERENCE FUND
• POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH ATTACHMENT (PGRA)

University world or local ranking

In Gelugor, Malaysia, this prominent university has been able to keep its significance. Due to its excellent curriculum & courses, highly educated faculty members and industrial placement opportunities for the students this university reached the position of excellency among the top universities in Asian Countries. According to the QS World University Rankings 2023, this university is in the #=143th position. In Asia, it is in 35th position by QS World University Rankings 2023. In the Times Higher Education Ranking, this university is between 601–800th position around the world and 4th in Impact Rankings in 2022.

Potential collaborative partners

The collaborative partners play very important roles in research technology and information sharing, student exchange programmes, training academic staff and students’ academic placements. This university has many collaborative partners which has been mentioned below-

• Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
• Hiroshima University
• University of Tsukuba
• University of Adelaide
• University of Western Australia
• University of Queensland
• University of New South Wales
• National Taiwan University
• National Chiao Tung University
• University of Hong Kong
• Riken
• Kyoto University
• Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
• Doshisha University
• National University of Singapore
• Nanyang Technological University
• Hokkaido University

Job or internship facilities

As this university gives importance to hands-on learning, this university facilitates students with finding internships very easily. This university has an online portal which enlists all the companies affiliated with this university providing internship offers towards the students.

FAQ

Can I study here without any IELTS?

Yes, this university also accepts TOEFL, Cambridge English, PTE and even MOI.

Is this university a good university for International students?

This university is one of the top 32 universities in Asia. According to the QS World University Ranks 2023, this university is in the #=143th position. So in one word, this university is one of the best universities for international students.

Can I do a job after completing a degree from this university?

No, the Malaysian Immigrant Service does not allow international students to do jobs in Malaysia after completing a degree from their universities. But they can do internships during their academic periods.

Conclusion

Malaysia is the best country for international students to do their higher education at a very affordable price. Moreover, getting a student visa in Malaysia is much easier than in other higher education-providing countries. Another important thing is University of Science, Malaysia is a very well-ranked university with 143 ranking according to the QS World University Rankings 2023, students will be able to experience this high-ranked university’s education with just the same tuition fee as that of the private universities of Bangladesh. So for students who are very ambitious to pursue their higher education at one of the world’s top-ranked universities, this university is the best choice for them.