Mfl University

[LA Don]

Hello

The wife (farang) and I are in the madly attempting to close out our affairs in the US for our retirement to Thailand. Everything had been planned with a move to Hua Hin and my two dependent grandchildren would have attended Stamford University there. Seems Stamford has moved all their English formatted classes to the Bangkok campus. Not wanting to retire to Bangkok, I have been searching for new locations.

I just returned from three weeks in Thailand checking out universties and living areas. The best two locations for all our criteria seem to be Uttradit and Chiang Mai. But Uttradit seems a little too quiet and Chiang Mai may be too distracting for the grandkids. I somehow missed Chiang Rai which seems to fit all the needed criteria. I see MFLU has an international program and an really reasonable cost - but I can't find a lot of info about it.

Does anyone on this forum know if there are many international students in Chiang Rai? By international I mean farang. I have searched through the teacher's forum (Ajarn) but they discuss mostly employment issues.

Our plan is to be relocated by Mar 2010 to get adjuste before the school year starts in June.

Any info would be appreciated.

[goski]

It's a bit sad to put western kids in the Thai educational system since the universities are equivalent to high schools in Europe. Nevertheless, there aren´t that many western students. First year students have to live on campus, don't know if the general segregation has made that not apply to westerners. The university is physically beautiful and Chiang Rai is a very nice place to live.

[scorecard]

It's a bit sad to put western kids in the Thai educational system since the universities are equivalent to high schools in Europe. Nevertheless, there aren´t that many western students. First year students have to live on campus, don't know if the general segregation has made that not apply to westerners. The university is physically beautiful and Chiang Rai is a very nice place to live.

I don't agree with the statement above. Following I am attaching a message I've recently posted in reply to a very similar comment:

ORIGINAL POST FROM ANOTHER MEMBER: "Excuse me that I ask, why would anyone take a masters in Thailand the Education levels is so low that its Not worth the paper its written on.

So for use outside Thailand its not worth anything.

MY COMMENT IN REPLY: "your comment is not quite correct, but is the common percention of Thai universities.

Undergraduate students from a number of universities in Thailand are readily accepted into masters programs in many countries across the world.

Further, the university where I lecture has active exchange programs with many prestigious universities across the world including: Singapore, Australia, USA, UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, and more. And at both undergraduate and graduate levels. None of these universities would set up or continue such programs if there were not very convinced that the sending or receiving university was of a high standard, by a number of indicators.

The class I taught last Sunday has 5 exchange students, all from Europe and they are very satisfied in all aspects of the time they are spening at my institution.

There are of course different types of universities including open universities and with the massive numbers of students they try to take care of the results of a large percentage of the students is predictable. But let me hasten to add that I'm not being critical of open universities, they give people with small income a chance to try to gain more knowledge, which is great.

I might add that I've had students who completed their undergraduate studies at Ramkamhaeng, then later were able to get support to do their masters at my university, which is in the list of so called prestigious Thai unis. A very large percentage of these students quickly came up to the overall same standards as the majority of the class. Some were stars.

Recently I've had three students return to my classes after a year of exchange at: one at NUS in Singapore, and from two prestigious US universities.

A number of Thai universities (including mine) participate several times every year in highly acclaimed annual competitions across all continents, by invitation only and often with as many as 20 schools participating. Several Thai unis have won a number of first and second places in these competitions."

------------------

My comments above are mostly in regard to Bangkok universities however I'm aware that there are similar quality universities in Chiang Mai with English language programs: Chiang Mai University, Payap University, and RajaMankala University. and there may be others with English language tuition. I regret that I have no knowledge of Chiang Rai universities.

I'm a little surprised at your comment that Chiang Mai might be a bit distracting for the students. However I guess this depends on where they are used to living up to now and other factors specific to your personal situation.

Pehaps another point to consider is immersion into the local community for yourself and your wife. I have no idea of course whether you have lived abroad before and whether you perhaps can already speak Thai language.

If the answer to both questions is 'no', then can I please mention that there may be quite a culture shock and if you are unable to communicate this could cause quite some anxiety. However, it's my belief that Chiang Mai has, overall, a much higher level of English language than any other city in Thailand, including Bangkok.

Good luck with your search and your move.

[kmrazek]

Regarding MFL University. My wife is presently completing her Masters Degree in Applied Chemistry at MFL. There are a significant number of foreign students at this university - from China, Malaysia, Lao, Philipines and a few from Europe and North America.

The University was established 11 years ago by the Queen and has been growing at a very fast rate for those 11 years. The University lectures primarily in English although alot of the postings are in Thai or are multilingual.

University ratings in Thailand are hard to come by however, out of the 10's of thousands of Universities in the world, I found an MFL rating in the top 1000.

Chiang Rai is a smaller centre but does have all of the conveniences from shopping malls such as Big C as well as many local markets.

My wife selected MFL to complete her Masters Degree because of what she sees as quality of education, and excellent support from scientific advisors.

I wish you the best in finding what you want - we found what we needed at MFL and Chiang Rai. My wife will be finishing her Masters in Feb/March of next year. We will be moving to central Thailand after she completes her degree - this is where she wants to teach. Our house is up for sale if you are interested.

If you wish to contact me, email [email protected]

[sceadugenga]

Good to see some responses to the dearly loved Expat myths about the Thai education system.

[klikster]

I have no first hand knowledge about the Thai educational system, but from what I have heard and read, Stamford seems not a very good Uni.

Edited October 28, 2009 by klikster

[kmrazek]

It's a bit sad to put western kids in the Thai educational system since the universities are equivalent to high schools in Europe. Nevertheless, there aren´t that many western students. First year students have to live on campus, don't know if the general segregation has made that not apply to westerners. The university is physically beautiful and Chiang Rai is a very nice place to live.

First year students for the Health Care Programs are required on campus. Other studies do not require the student to be on campus.

[goski]

Good for them. Anyhow, personal views about the educational system is of course the only subject there is to discuss. Obviously students with a reasonable result can apply for a masters abroad since it's economically beneficial for the universities. Subjective academic success from MFL is a very joyful experience indeed but also from my eight year experience of MFL it isn´t one I would place very high in other circuits more than the status one gets from having a university degree in Thailand.

I studied at Chulalongkorn, even though I didn´t take a subject where English was spoken I can at least present my view of what is supposed to be the top notch of education in Thailand. It isn´t very good really. But what is to blame? Obviously lack of experience. When we in class discussed the prestige of Chulalongkorn Uni. as being almost 100 years old I presented the fact that in my country the universities are usually about 500 years old. So, when it comes to educational tradition there is no comparison when it comes to quality between my country and Thailand.

But when it comes to education within Thailand itself my guess is that MFL is pretty much up there with the good ones. There are too many individual factors to take into account whether a student with high grades in a bachelor program in Thailand would be able to continue in a masters program abroad with as much ease as the western student. Who knows? Mostly we only get to hear about the nice stories like the one above.

[LA Don]

Thanks to everyone for the great responses.

Degrees in the US are quickly becoming the "minimum" requirement to get the interview door open. I have never heard of anyone questioning the country of origin - only whether it was accredited by the proper government or educational associations. A prestige university will get an eyebrow raised but not too much more.

My home base for years has been Paknam Lang Suan (70km below Chumphon). Chiang Rai is a little more cosmopolitan but looks great. MFL University sounded pretty good also (of course, I would rather send my kids to Yale or Oxford but that isn't going to happen).

Unfortunately, I received the below email from MFL confirming what goski noted in his posting - all first year students are required to reside on campus. This would seperate them from any family support and make the culture adjustment more difficult - I think. Anyway, it moved MFL from No. 1 to 4 for consideration - a big disappointment for me. I was already thinking about the BBQ ribs at Don's.

Thanks again

Don

=============================================

Dear Mr. Don Middleton,

We have almost 300 international students from 15 countries studied with

us. All first year students have to stay in the university dormitory.

This is the university policy. Attached please find fact sheet and

application form. For further information please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Division of the International Affairs

[lukamar]

Just a quick note on the tail end of this conversation. My wife graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, at CMU. First rate program, in my opinion, but when we moved to Canada they wouldn't accept her qualifications.

If you are going to live and work in Thailand then probably a Thai Uni is fine but if you are going to end up working in N. America, the UK or the EU then you will find yourself at a distinct disadvantage and possibly other choices should be made. IMHO.

[sceadugenga]

I know that Australian Universities run "catch up" courses for people who qualified in what they consider to be lesser educational institutions overseas and wish to work in that country.

[LA Don]

There is a terrible misconception that a Thailand degree is not valid in the US. The US Department of Education position of recognition is shown below.

I personally have hired a number of persons with foreign degrees. In my last position, with USAID, over 75% of our staff had foreign degrees.

Sorry this is off topic but I thought it should be said.

==========================================

Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

See also:

◦Organization of U.S. Education

◦Structure of U.S. Education

◦Accreditation and Quality Assurance

◦U.S. Institutions and Programs

◦Visiting the United States

NOTE: THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND USNEI DO NOT EVALUATE FOREIGN DEGREES OR QUALIFICATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT REQUESTS FOR SUCH EVALUATIONS TO US OR SUBMIT DIPLOMAS OR OTHER RECORDS FOR REVIEW. REFER TO THE LINKS BELOW.

There is no single authority in the United States for the recognition of foreign degrees and other qualifications. International agreements and the practice in the U.S. education system and labor market recognize the existence of three competent authorities for recognition matters:

1.The admitting school or higher education institution, for students who seek to study in the United States and who are presenting credits or qualifications earned abroad;

2.The hiring employer, for individuals seeking work and who are presenting degrees or other qualifications earned abroad; and

3.State or territorial licensing boards, for individuals seeking to practice regulated professions in a jurisdiction of the United States and who are presenting degrees or other qualifications earned abroad.

Many, if not most, of these competent authorities in turn depend on expert comparability recommendations prepared by credential evaluation services. Credential evaluation services are independent organizations that perform analyses of non-U.S. qualifications and issue recommendations as to how a particular qualification compares to a similar qualification or set of qualifications in the U.S. education system, labor market or the professions. Credential evaluations vary in cost depending on the complexity of the analysis and the amount of documentation available, and are generally paid for either by the individual or occasionally by an employer.

[lukamar]

There is a terrible misconception that a Thailand degree is not valid in the US. The US Department of Education position of recognition is shown below.

I personally have hired a number of persons with foreign degrees. In my last position, with USAID, over 75% of our staff had foreign degrees.

Sorry this is off topic but I thought it should be said.

Don, you do bring up a good point. My feeling is that professional qualifications from abroad are scrutinized at a much higher standard in Canada than the US. In my wife's case, she could have taken courses at a Canadian university but it would have meant a further 3-4 years of study and then she still would have had to sit the Canadian board examinations etc. I'm saying this because one of her colleagues went to LA at the same time and was practicing in a couple of months. Possibly this is because of the differing medical systems of the two countries. It is an ongoing problem in a lot of professions, in Canada anyway, as many well trained professionals cannot work in their chosen field because of the qualification issue.

My feeling is you had better check if the Thai University qualifications are accepted at least in the country you plan to live in.

[Limbo]

Don't underestimate our local MFL university, it is number 1484 of the world!

That means that there are only 1483 universities that might serve their students better.

It's nice to see that Thai universities participate in these international rankings again.

A couple of years ago they refused to give the necessary information as they didn't like their rankings. They wanted these to be higher.

Anyhow, the Thai universities are generally much, much better than those in neighbouring countries like Burma and Laos.

The MFLU offers also the possibility to study cosmetology.

And where else then at a Thai university one would like to study a subject like that?

The School of Cosmetic Science of the MFLU is even more popular than the School of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine.

I think these are mutually supporting sciences and I wouldn't be surprised when we soon would see an interfaculty unite the two subjects.

Especially among the older 'farang' population there might be a great potential to recruit students for these subjects .

And if not, then so among the Thai, mostly female partners of aging foreigners.

We thank Dr. Wanchai for all the good work and pionering he has done and we wish our new President and helmsman, Dr. Ted all wind in the sails! May he keep on to the course!

BTW Dr. Ted studied at the Veterinary Institute of Stockholm, late sixties.

Limbo

[TyGrr]

Sorry to be a bit late to this but I am a white American who will graduate this March from the 4 year program.

I know that the rules state that you must stay on campus but as my Chinese friend says "we are like panda", they will let international students do what they want as long as there is not a problem. I had a dorm for my first semester but only stayed there 2 months before moving out and living with my girl friend. My English mate never bothered to get one at all. I also have some Thai friend from the CR area who never had dorms either. I would suggest you ask how important it is to follow that rule rather than asking what the rules are.

Hope I was somewhat helpful, will be happy to answer an more questions about MFU. PM me plz. J

[Limbo]

Sorry but I am a white American

Don't worry, we are colorblind ...

L.

Edited December 23, 2009 by Limbo