In 2006, the Commission on Higher Education conducted a survey on foreign
students in higher education institutions in Thailand. Currently, there are about 16,000 international
students enrolled in Thai higher education institutions—less than 0.01 percent of
the student body (Table 3-4). Almost half of all foreign enrollments are from China. Thailand’s
neighbors represent one quarter of all foreign enrollments.
TABLE 3-4: INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BY NATIONALITY
Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008
TABLE 3-5: INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BY INSTITUTION
Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008
International students bring an important aspect of diversity to the classroom and
the university campus, giving Thai students access to global perspectives without leaving
Thailand. Another benefit of foreign student participation in Thai universities is an additional
revenue stream to finance higher education. Most international students are self-funded (Table
3-6). In 2003, it was estimated that foreign student enrollments contributed Baht 2.5 billion
(around USD 75 million or USD 15,000 per student on average) into the subsector (Chang,
no date). At many institutions, tuition contributions and fee payments for non-Thai students
are nearly double those charged for Thai students. The most popular fields of study among
foreign students are business administration, marketing, business English, Thai language,
general management and international business management.
TABLE 3-6: NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BY SOURCE OF FUNDS
Source: Commission on Higher Education, 2008
Foreign enrollments in Thailand are also encouraged by branch campuses of several foreign higher education institutions, such as Webster University and Stamford International
University. Franchise universities are at present a limited segment of the existing higher education
market. As noted above, greater participation from the private international sector
could be a growth factor in the supply of tertiary educational services.
A newer publication of the Ministry of Education shows an increase in foreign student numbers. In 2009, Office of the Higher Education Commission conducted a survey on the enrolment of international students in higher education institutions in Thailand. The result of the survey revealed that 19,052 international students have studied in 103 Thai higher education institutions. The top ten Thai higher education institutions having the highest number of international students are; Assumption University (3,023 students), Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (1,354 students), Mahidol University (1,311 students), Ramkhamhaeng University (632 students), Chiang Rai Rajabhat University (549 students), Chulalongkorn University (508 students), Chiang Mai University (484 students), Khon Kaen University (444 students), Asia-Pacific International University (423 students) and Bangkok University (413 students). The popular fields of study among international students are Thai Language, Business Administration, International Business, English Language, Marketing, Thai Studies, Thai Language and Thai Culture Studies, Business English, International Business Management and Tourism Industry successively.
The reliability of that publication remains questionable, however. That Thai Language, Thai Studies and Thai Language and Culture Studies are among the popular fields of study among international students, is not confirmed by information to which we have access. Furthermore, the student numbers published may rely on outdated information. In January 2010, Ramkhamhaeng University published 938 foreign students at the Institute of International Studies alone, which does not include students of foreign nationality studying in other programs conducted in Thai language. According to our own information, however, there was not 50 percent increase in student numbers between January 2009 and January 2010.
Please note that we cannot take any responsibility for the correctness of the data shown on this Web site. We try our very best, but we depend on universities, their Web sites, and fellow students and lecturers, to get updates when ever programs, conditions, or tuition fees change.
