Suratthani Rajabhat University, Koh Samui Campus.

Suratthani Rajabhat University, Koh Samui Campus at a glance

Suratthani Rajabhat University (SRU) is a public Rajabhat university headquartered on the Surat Thani mainland, on the Gulf coast opposite Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao -- part of the nationwide Rajabhat network of provincial universities that trace their roots to teacher training colleges and were granted full university status in 2004. In 2002, SRU opened an education center on Koh Samui itself, and on 26 March 2024 the university's council voted to formalize it as the Koh Samui Interdisciplinary School (วิทยาลัยสหวิทยาการ เกาะสมุย) -- an internal unit with faculty-equivalent status, giving the island its only public higher-education campus.

The campus sits at 36 Moo 6, Bo Phut sub-district, close to Fisherman's Village and the airport. It offers two bachelor's degree programs -- Hotel Management and Cruise Business, and Thai and International Culinary Arts -- built directly around the island's tourism and hospitality economy, plus short-term certificate and upskill/reskill courses aimed at local hospitality workers. It is a separate unit from SRU's International School of Tourism, another SRU school focused on tourism, airline business and hospitality management.

Notable facts

• The only public higher-education campus physically located on Koh Samui -- students pursuing most other bachelor's degrees still travel to the SRU main campus or elsewhere on the Surat Thani mainland, a short flight or ferry away.
• Formally established as an internal college-equivalent unit ("Koh Samui Interdisciplinary School") by SRU council resolution on 26 March 2024, building on an education center that had operated on the island since 2002.
• Both degree programs -- hotel and cruise-ship management, and Thai/international culinary arts -- are purpose-built for Samui's hospitality-driven economy rather than general academic study.

Sources & References

• Ministry of Education, Thailand

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