Chulalongkorn University is a public and autonomousresearch university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded by King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training royal pages and civil servants in 1899 (B.E. 2442) at the Grand Palace of Thailand. It was later established as a national university in 1917, making it the oldest institute of higher education in Thailand.
During the reign of Chulalongkorn's son, King Vajiravudh, the Royal Pages School became the Civil Service College of King Chulalongkorn. The Rockefeller Foundation was instrumental in helping the college from its academic foundation. On March 26, 1917, King Vajiravudh renamed the college "Chulalongkorn University".
Chulalongkorn University is one of the National Research Universities and supported by the Office of Nation Education Standards and Quality Assessment of Thailand. Moreover, Chulalongkorn University is the only Thai university which is a member of Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU). Admission to CU is highly selective, and applicants are required to have high test scores. Applicants ranking within the top 10 national scores are chosen for study at CU.
CU comprises nineteen faculties, a School of Agriculture, three colleges, ten institutes and two other schools. Its campus occupies a vast area in downtown Bangkok. Graduates customarily receive their diplomas from the King of Thailand, a tradition begun by King Prajadhipok (Rama VII).
