Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University.

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University at a glance

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University is Thailand's oldest Buddhist university, founded by King Chulalongkorn in 1887 at Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit in Bangkok. Its main campus is no longer in Bangkok: it moved to Wang Noi District in this province in 2008, and the university's Ayutthaya address -- 79 Moo 1, Phahon Yothin Road at kilometre 55, Lam Sai Sub-district, Wang Noi, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya 13170 -- is the one its own colleges publish today. Wang Noi is roughly 70 km north of central Bangkok and about 30 km south-east of Ayutthaya city, close to the Asia Road and the Bangkok-bound motorway.

For an English-speaking resident the relevant part is the International Buddhist Studies College (IBSC), MCU's international graduate college, whose office is on the second floor of the IBSC building on that Wang Noi campus. IBSC teaches in English -- documents, textbooks and classes -- and its published programmes are a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhist Studies, Master of Arts degrees in Buddhist Studies, in Religion and Philosophy and in Innovative Mindfulness and Peace Studies, and doctorates in Buddhist Studies and in Innovative Mindfulness and Peace Studies. A separate Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies is taught in Chinese.

That makes Ayutthaya province one of the few places outside Bangkok where a foreign resident can read for an English-medium degree without moving, and the college's own student pages carry visa-application guidance and dormitory information because much of its intake arrives from overseas. Admission is open to ordained and lay applicants on the same terms, subject to the college's English-language requirement.

What it awards, and under whose authority

State Buddhist university, founded by King Chulalongkorn in 1887; one of Thailand's two public Buddhist universities.

• Bachelor's degrees
• Master's degrees
• Doctoral degrees

Notable facts

• Thailand's oldest Buddhist university, founded 1887; its main campus has been at Wang Noi in this province since 2008.
• Campus address: 79 Moo 1, Phahon Yothin Road km 55, Lam Sai Sub-district, Wang Noi, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya 13170.
• The International Buddhist Studies College teaches in English, from a BA in Buddhist Studies through master's degrees to two doctorates.
• One MA in Buddhist Studies is taught in Chinese; the college publishes an English-language requirement for its international intake.
• Ordained and lay applicants are admitted on the same conditions, and the college publishes visa and dormitory guidance for overseas students.