A regional university with
global ambitions.
Founded in 1964, Chiang Mai University is a research-intensive, residential institution that turns Northern Thailand’s heritage and ecology into knowledge for the kingdom and the world.
The four pillars of our 2026–2030 plan.
Research Excellence
Deepen ten strategic clusters with cross-faculty grants, shared facilities, and a clear pipeline from discovery to impact.
Future-ready Education
Stackable credentials, residential learning communities, and curricula that move with industry and society.
Global Engagement
Anchor a Northern Thailand identity while building dual-degree, exchange, and joint-research partnerships across continents.
Sustainable Campus
A net-zero pathway by 2040, with renewable energy, water stewardship, and zero-waste residential operations.
Six decades of shaping Northern Thailand.
- 1964
Founding
Established as the first university in northern Thailand, with three faculties and 268 students.
- 1972
Health expansion
Faculties of Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing open, anchoring Northern Thailand’s teaching-hospital system.
- 1992
Business & enterprise
Faculties of Business, Economics, and Agro-Industry founded, opening the campus to industry partnerships.
- 2014
Public health institute
Faculty of Public Health launched in response to the region’s air-quality and infectious-disease challenges.
- 2026
Strategic plan refresh
A renewed 2026–2030 strategy doubling investment into research clusters and lifelong learning.
The executive team.
Prof. Pongruk Sribanditmongkol
Forensic medicine specialist leading CMU’s 2026–2030 strategic plan focused on research excellence and global engagement.
Prof. Saranyapin Potiwan
Leads CMU’s ten strategic clusters and the university’s industry research consortium.
Prof. Pradit Sookchai
Drives the stackable-credentials lifelong learning programme and the curriculum redesign across faculties.
Prof. Chayada Sirisin
Oversees student affairs, residential life, athletics, and global mobility programmes.
On a measured path to net zero by 2040.
Rooftop solar across faculty buildings, a campus-wide electric shuttle network, integrated water reuse, and a research consortium on tropical climate adaptation — sustainability at CMU is operational, not aspirational.