Payap University

University Facts

As Thailand's first fully accredited private university and founding member of the Association of Private Higher Education, Payap University is home to approximately 6,500 students and more than 350 international students each year from over 30 countries.
Founded in 1974, the university boasts a pleasant campus with verdant parks and a mixture of modern and older buildings. A chapel forms the campus's centerpiece, blending Christian and Buddhist heritage with a spire and a lotus-shaped roof.
Located just 15 minutes from Chiang Mai's city center and its famous night bazaar, the university is the perfect base for exploration of the area.
Student services include: University ID; dining facilities; extensive modern library; computer labs; sports and recreation facilities, including soccer fields, basketball courts, volleyball, rugby, softball, badminton, and table tennis facilities; student societies; sporting clubs; and chaplaincy.

Academic Program

Students attending Payap University are required enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours. Each student must enroll in the following:

Thai History and Culture Course, which includes three excursions during the semester to local villages and ethnic communities.
Language Course - Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced available

Students also typically enroll in 1-2 electives during their time in Chiang Mai. Sample electives at Payap University include, but are not limited to, the following:

Economics: Developmental Economics in Southeast Asia; Thai Economy
Fine Arts: Ethnomusicology; Thai Drum and Dance
Religion: Buddhism; Islam in Southeast Asia; Survey of Asian Religions
History: Cultural History of Southeast Asia; Northern Thai History; Contemporary Thai History; Contemporary Myanmar (Burma); Contemporary Cambodia
Sociology/Anthropology: Democratization in Thailand; Global Environmentalism; Human Trafficking in the Sub-Mekong Region; Security and Foreign Policy in Thailand; Women in Thai Society; Culture of Ethnic Groups in Northern Thailand

More subjects will be continually added; please refer to our web site for full listings. All courses appear on an official Payap University transcript.

Internships

The Thai student visa does not allow students to work while studying. In order to be able to undertake an internship or unpaid work, students must obtain a work visa. If a student enters Thailand on a student visa, he/she is not eligible to obtain a work visa. For students interested in undertaking an internship, please contact Study Asia as opportunities may exist in certain industries and arrangements may be made.

Unique Opportunities

To complement the academic components of study at Payap University, students are also free to participate on a number of unique opportunities while in Chiang Mai. For example:

Teaching English to Monks - Get to know local novice monks as you volunteer for two hours each week to teach English. During your visits to a nearby schooling temple, you will assist in a class of approximately 10 to 20 young monks, leading participants in English-learning games, songs, and other classroom activities.
Playgroup at a local orphanage - Spend one afternoon a week at a local orphanage assisting with the care of children between the ages of newborn and 4 years old. You’ll assist with meal times and general playground supervision, and perhaps a silly game or two.
Guided visit to historical sites in Thailand - One week of the program is spent visiting some of Thailand's unique cultural and historical sites, which may include the Sukhuthai Historical Park, Ayutthaya, and various temples and places of interest in Bangkok. During this time, students learn how Thai culture has been influenced by the cultures of India, China and Cambodia and will also view the development of Thai history and society through these major points of interest.

Campus Activities

Payap has an active student-run Student Council that organizes entertainment, cultural events, special seminars, community service, and sports. There are also a myriad special clubs including an international outdoor club, academic clubs, sports clubs, and special interest clubs. In addition, the university has soccer fields, basketball courts, volleyball, rugby, softball, badminton, table tennis, petanque, and takraw. Field trips to surrounding townships and provinces are also common as Northern Thailand offers a plethora of dazzling sites to see and experience!