Mahamakut Buddhist University, Lanna Campus at a glance
Mahamakut Buddhist University is the Dhammayut order's university and Thailand's first monastic university; it became an autonomous state university with legal personality under the Mahamakut Buddhist University Act B.E. 2540 (1997). Its Lanna Campus was created by university order 13/2534 on 15 February 1991 at Wat Chedi Luang Worawihan, in the middle of Chiang Mai's old city. It admitted lay students for the first time in the 2001 academic year, in the special out-of-hours programme; opened a regular daytime intake alongside monastic students in 2003; and has run graduate degrees since the same year.
The campus now runs on two sites 14 kilometres apart, which is the fact that decides where a student should live. The original is inside Wat Chedi Luang at 103 Phra Pokklao Road, Tambon Phra Sing. As it outgrew the temple, the campus bought land in July 2011 at Ban Pa Tan, Tambon Buak Khang in San Kamphaeng District, at kilometre 14 on the Chiang Mai–Mae On road (Highway 1317), added a second plot from its own income, and put up its first two teaching buildings from 2016. A doctorate in Buddhism and Philosophy opened in 2020, and from semester 1 of 2021 graduate study and the Saturday–Sunday bachelor's stream moved out to San Kamphaeng while the Wat Chedi Luang site stayed in use. Bachelor's subjects listed on the campus's own site are English, Teaching English, Teaching Thai, Teaching Social Studies, Government, Political Science, and Buddhist Studies for Development; the master's degrees are Educational Administration and Buddhism & Philosophy, with the doctorate in Buddhism & Philosophy.
Notable facts
- Founded by university order 13/2534 on 15 February 1991 at Wat Chedi Luang Worawihan, in the old city.
- Two sites, 14 km apart: check which one your course is taught on before choosing where to live -- since semester 1 of 2021 the graduate and weekend bachelor's teaching has been at San Kamphaeng, not the temple.
- Open to lay students as well as monastics -- the special out-of-hours intake from 2001 and the regular daytime intake from 2003.
BAANLYY does not rank, endorse or accept payment from universities. Facts on this page are drawn from Mahamakut Buddhist University, Lanna Campus's own published pages, last read on 2026-09-07 — always confirm current admissions, programs and fees directly with the institution. Visit the official Mahamakut Buddhist University, Lanna Campus website →
Sources & References
Primary and official sources are cited above. Government rules, fees and procedures in Thailand change over time and vary by office; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before relying on them. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.
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