Thailand National Sports University, Udon Thani Campus.

Awarding authority and qualifications

Awarding or supervising body: Ministry of Tourism and Sports

• Bachelor's degrees through three faculties -- Education, Liberal Arts, and Sports Science and Health
• Master's degrees: M.A. in Sport and Recreation Management, and M.Ed. in Physical Education (developed from 2013)

TNSU Udon Thani at a glance

This is a full campus of a state university that sits outside the higher-education ministry altogether: Thailand National Sports University reports to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, which is why ordinary lists of "universities in Udon Thani" routinely miss it. The campus occupies 116 rai at the Udon Thani provincial central stadium, at 380 Moo 5 on the Udon--Loei road in Mak Khaeng Subdistrict -- the same subdistrict as Udon Thani Rajabhat University's main campus, roughly two kilometres away. It is one of 17 TNSU campuses and 11 sports schools nationwide, one of four campuses in Isaan, and the fifth to open in the country.

It began on 16 January 1975 as Udon Thani Physical Education College, under the Department of Physical Education in the Ministry of Education, and for its first three decades reached degree level only by borrowing someone else's charter: a 1989 joint project with Udon Thani Teachers' College produced its first bachelor's programme (B.A. in Sports and Health), a 1992 affiliation with Udon Thani Rajabhat Institute added a B.Sc. in Sports Science and Health Science, and a 2002 cooperation with Ramkhamhaeng University added a bachelor's in Physical Education and Health Education. It gained its own degree-awarding status under the Institute of Physical Education Act, published in the Royal Gazette on 4 February 2005 and taking effect the following day, and became a university under the Thailand National Sports University Act B.E. 2562, in force from 23 May 2019.

Notable facts

• Under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, not the higher-education ministry -- the reason it is absent from most "universities in Udon Thani" lists despite being a full campus with three faculties.
• 116 rai at the provincial central stadium, 380 Moo 5, Udon--Loei Road, Mak Khaeng Subdistrict, Mueang Udon Thani -- the same subdistrict as UDRU's main campus.
• Founded 16 January 1975 as Udon Thani Physical Education College; degree-awarding in its own right only from the Institute of Physical Education Act (gazetted 4 February 2005), and a university under the TNSU Act B.E. 2562 from 23 May 2019.
• Trains PE and health teachers, sports scientists, coaches, recreation staff and sports journalists -- a teacher-supply route worth knowing about if you are recruiting locally for a school.

Sources & References

• Ministry of Education, Thailand

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