Cost of Education in Malaysia

The affordable cost of tertiary quality education is one of the good reasons why international students should choose Malaysia to study in. Your education cost is made up of:

• Course fees which include tuition fees and other study fees payable to the institution, depending on what you are studying and the duration of your course/study programme, and
• Other components like the living expenses which will depend on which location you are staying in, your type of accommodation and your lifestyle

Course Fees in Malaysia
Your course fees will consist of your tuition fees plus other related direct study expenses. Below are some or even all of the components that you may incur during your course of study :

• Registration Fee
• Tuition Fee
• Deposit
• Computer/Science Laboratory Fee
• Health & Hospitalisation Insurance Premium
• Library fee
• Other Incidental Costs

Tables below show the breakdown of estimated tuition fees at various levels of study ranging from pre-u studies, bachelor’s degrees to Ph.D levels.
A. Pre-University Programmes
Private Higher Educational Institutions (PHEIs) in Malaysia offer 2 types of pre-university qualification for SPM or GCSE ‘O’ leavers to pursue :

• External Qualifications
  These are pre-university qualifications awarded by External Academic Bodies of the respective countries.
• Internal Qualifications
  These are pre-university qualification courses developed and provided by individual private colleges or universities.
  The estimated fees are:

Tuition Fees (in RM/USD) – Foundation or Pre-University Studies
External Qualifications
GCE “A” Level, UK	RM12,000 – RM16,000 (USD3,240 – USD4,320)	18 months
Western Australian Matriculation (AUSMAT), Australia	RM7,000-RM9,900 (USD1,890 – USD2,680)	1 yr
South Australian Matriculation (SAM), Australia	RM9,000 – RM13,500 (USD2,430 – USD3,650)	1 yr
Canadian Pre-U, Canada	RM12,300 – RM13,500 (USD3,320 – USD3,650)	1 yr
Malaysian Qualifications
University Foundation Studies, Malaysia	RM7,000 – RM12,000 (USD1,890 – USD3,240)	1 yr

B. English Course
Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-lingual country with most Malaysians communicating in English. Thus, this makes Malaysia an ideal place for non-native spea kers to practise the language. To help those who need to improve theirEnglish, many highly-experienced educational institutions and language centres in Malaysia offer language preparatory courses, especially to prepare International Students to sit for internationally-accepted English qualifications such as TOEFL and IELTS.
The estimated tuition fees are:

Tuition Fees (in RM/USD) – Preparatory Courses For English Proficiency Tests
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)	RM500 – RM800 (USD135 – USD216)	2 months
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)	RM450 – RM800) (USD122 – USD216)	2 months

C. Bachelor’s Degree Programmes
Malaysia offers you many study pathways to complete an entire 3-year bachelor’s degree programme at a very competitive cost if you have GCE A-Levels / SAM or other equivalent pre-university qualifications. The estimated tuition fees are:

Tuition Fees (in RM/USD) – Bachelor’s Degree Programmes
Areas of Study	Paths of Study
	Complete Entire Bachelor’s Degree in Malaysia, via
	Path (i) Private Colleges’ 3+0 Foreign Degree Programme RM (USD)	Path (ii) Foreign University Branch Campuses’ Degree Programme RM (USD)	Path (iii) Malaysian Private Universities’ Degree Programme RM (USD)
Business	RM39,000 – RM52,000 (USD10,540 – USD14,050) (3 yrs)	RM48,000 – RM84,000 (USD12,970 – USD22,700) (3yrs)	RM30,000 – RM40,000 (USD8,110 – USD10,810) (3 yrs)
Engineering	RM45,000 – RM47,000 (USD12,160 – USD12,700) (3yrs for UK degree)	RM82,000 – RM102,000 (USD22,160 – USD27,570) (4 yrs for Aust degree) (3yrs for UK degree )	RM46,000 – RM52,000 (USD12,450 -USD14,050) (4yrs for Malaysian degree)
IT	RM33,000 – RM40,000 (USD8,920 – USD10,810) (3yrs)	RM52,800 – RM84,000 (USD14,270 – USD22,700) (3 yrs)	RM33,000 – RM43,000 (USD8,920 – USD11,620) (3 yrs)
Medicine	-	RM325,000 (USD87,840) (5yrs)	RM250,000 – RM333,000 (USD67,570 – USD90,000) (5yrs)
Hospitality & Tourism	RM45,000 – RM48,500 (USD12,160 – USD13,110) (3yrs)	-	RM31,000 – RM55,000 (USD8,380 – USD14,865) (3 yrs)
Music	RM54,000 (USD14,600) (3 yrs)	-	RM53,000 – RM59,000 (USD14,320 – USD15,950) (3 yrs)

D. Professional Qualification Programmes
If you choose to obtain a professional qualification, there are private educational institutions in Malaysia that prepare students to sit for external professional examinations, set by the various international examination bodies / professional boards, which will award the qualifications upon the student’s examination success.

Tuition Fees – External Professional Qualifications (in RM/USD)
The Chartered Association of Certified Accountant, UK (ACCA)	RM10,000 – RM12,000 (USD2,700 – USD3,240)
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountant, UK (CIMA)	RM10,000 – RM16,000 (USD2,700 – USD4,320)
Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators, UK (ICSA)	RM10,000 – RM12,000 (USD2,700 – USD3,240)

E. Postgraduate Studies
The public universities as well as the private higher educational institutions (PHEIs) in Malaysia offer International Students, the MBA and other Master’s Degrees as well as Post-Graduate programmes at relatively competitive tuition fees combined with international standards of education. The estimated tuition fees are:

Tuition Fees (in RM/USD) – Postgraduate Studies Offered by Public Universities & PHEIs
Master of Business Administration (MBA)	RM20,000 – RM58,000 (USD5,410 – USD15,680)
Ph.D	RM10,500 – RM38,000 (USD2,840 – USD10,270)

F. Twining Degree Arrangement
Malaysian private institutions have made arrangements with overseas collaborative universities whereby students can enrol locally into programmes of “2+1″ Twinning Degree. In a twinning programme, students can complete the identical curriculum for either 1 year; 1″ years or 2 years or 2″ years in Malaysia, out of the 3-year degree programme before going overseas, to the twinning partner university, to complete the remaining duration of their degree. One of the outstanding feature for twinning degree programme is the students registers with both the local private education institutions and the foreign university (dual registration), and upon successful completion of the local segment he/she is guaranteed admission to the next level in the campus of the twinning-partner university, in the UK, USA, Australia and various other countries.

The table displayed below provides an indication of the estimated total course fees for the entire “2+1″ twinning programme, where the first two years of studies will be pursued at institutions in Malaysia while the final year will be completed at the twinning partner university in a foreign country such as Australia or UK.

The Estimated Entire Course Fees for Twinning Degree Programmes (in RM/USD)
Areas of Study	Twinning Degree Programme (2 or 3 years in Malaysia +1 year in Australia)	Twinning Degree Programme (2 years in Malaysia +1 year in UK)
Business	RM34,200 (2 yrs) + A$16,400 (1 yr) (USD21,653 for 3 yrs, 2 yrs in Malaysia + 1 yr in Aust)	RM42,750 (2 yrs) + £7820 (1 yr) (USD26,368 for 3 yrs, 2 yrs in Malaysia +1 yr in UK)
Engineering	RM46,500 (3 yrs) + A$18,500 (1 yr) (USD26,568 for 4 yrs, 3 yrs in Malaysia +1 yr in Aust)	RM48,650 (1 yr) + £21,000 (2 yrs) (USD52,878 for 3 yrs, 1 yr in Malaysia +2 yrs in UK)
IT	RM39,164 (2 yrs) + A$18,000 (1 yr) (USD23,720 for 3 yrs, 2 yrs in Malaysia +1 yr in Aust)	-

 

Cross – Country Comparison of Education Cost

Malaysia has always been a competitive study destination for International Students. The main attraction is the low cost of education and the added bonus of International Students being allowed to work in Malaysia while studying here. Among countries in this region where education is a revenue-generating commodity, Malaysia also offers one of the most simplified immigration procedures for those who qualify to obtain students’ passes to study.

Let us now examine the course fees and living expenses for International Students among the countries (that offer courses using English medium).

Cross-Country Comparison of Education Cost (per academic year) for a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts or Business for International Students
Country (public/private institutions)	Tuition Fees* (per academic year)	Living Costs (per year)	Total Education Cost (per annum)
Australia (public)	USD8,500	USD8,500	USD17,000
Canada (public)	USD7000	USD8,500	USD15,500
France (public)	Minimal	USD12,700	USD12,700
Malaysia (private)#	USD4,000	USD3,000	USD7,000
New Zealand (public)	USD10,000	USD11,500	USD21,500
Singapore (private)#	USD6,000	USD9,000	USD15,000
United Kingdom (public)	USD13,500	USD12,500	USD26,000
USA (public)	USD13,000	USD12,000	USD25,000
USA (private)	USD22,000	USD13,000	USD35,000

Conversion rate used: 1A$ = RM2.80, 1C$ = RM3.10, 1Euro = 4.70, 1NZ$ = 2.50, 1S$ = RM2.30, 1£ = RM7.00, 1USD = RM3.70
The data extracted may not be up-to-date and may not be obtained from the relevant sources & is meant for informational guide only

To emphasise the competitive advantage of Malaysia’s affordable costs, the table in the following section will provide a simple comparison of study costs between an Australian University branch campus in Malaysia and the Main University Campus in Australia.

An Example of Comparative Education Cost for a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science (3 years) of an Australian University
Item	Australian Branch Campus in Malaysia (Estimated Cost)	Australian University (Estimated Cost)
Tuition Fees	RM27,995 (USD7,566)	AS$23,110 (USD17,489)
Living Cost	RM11,000 (USD2,970)	A$15,000 (USD11,351)
Health Insurance	RM200 (USD54)	A$295 (USD223)
Average Education Cost for one (1) year	RM39,195 (USD10,590)	A$38,405 (USD29,063)
Total Education for Three (3) Years	RM117,585 (USD31,770)	A$115,215 (USD87,189)

Currency Conversion Rate : A$1=RM2.80, USD1=RM3.70

Source : StudyMalaysia.com Research Team

Disclaimer: The figures and data provided in this Chapter are estimated guide only. Students are advised to check with the respective institutions or authority concerned before proceeding with your enrollment.