Study Cost

Cost of Studying in Malaysia

 

Tuition fees

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

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 10.1 to 10.6 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.

1. 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:

 

Table 1 : Tuition Fees (in RM/USD) – Foundation or Pre-University Studies

 

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

 

 

1. 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 speakers to practise the language. To help those who need to improve their English, 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:

Table 2 : 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

 

1. 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:

 

Table 3 : 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)

 

1. 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.

Table 4 : 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)

 

1. 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:

Table 5 : 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)

 

1. 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; 1½ years or 2 years or 2½ 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.

Table 6 : 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)	–

 

Estimated Conversion Rate : RM3.70=USD1, RM2.80=A$1, RM7.00= £1

 

 

Living in Malaysia

All the international students should have round about US$ 243 to US$ 350 for their month living expenses in the heart of the city but in the year 2011 the costs of living in city has been broken down which is as under.

• Accommodation Costs:

According to an estimate about US$ 60 to US$ 150 per month is the costs of the accommodation in the city. But the rental fees may vary according to the geographical area of Malaysia and also depends on type of accommodation you choose to live. There are many types of living for international students that include in-campus living, off-campus living which includes apartments, condominium, single story houses, double story houses etc. There are many other ways of living that includes a house with or without air-conditioning facility and the number of peoples shared the room or complete house to live.

• Food / House keeping Costs:

International student should have round about US$ 150 for the food and house keeping costs and can be based as US$ 4 for three times meal per day. But on the other hand if you cook and share the cooking expenses with your room mates than the food expenses will be much cheaper.

• Clothing Costs:

There are many types of cloth expenses that include ironing, washing, dry cleaning etc. All these costs of clothing may cost you round about US$ 13 per month.

• Public Transport Costs:

Most of the student stay in their campuses and some stay very near to their campuses so that there will be no traveling cost to and from the classes. But there are many other types of traveling that may cost you round about US$ 15 per month (depends on your traveling)

• Mobile Phone / Telecommunication Bills:

For your mobile dues you can make an estimate of round about US$ 15 per months but it can exceed and depends on the usage of your mobile phone. Usually there are many mobile packages in Malaysia that are very competitive so the costs may vary according to your chosen package.

• Stationery and Books Costs:

International student should keep in mind that the stationery and books costs can be round about US$ 15 but the cost may vary according to your requirement of stationery and books. These costs also depend on your selected course and also depend on the projects you are taking.

• Medical & Hospital Insurance Costs:

International students should know that there are no medical expenses of students because you don’t have to pay. But you should keep round about US$ 10 per month because you can need in case of illnesses during the complete year. This amount also includes the amount that you will pay for the insurance of your hospital that you pay from your institutions.

• Some Personal Expenses:

All your personal expenses will depend on your personal lifestyle and community that you choose. A round about figure of personal expenses is US$ 30 to US$ 60 per month but these expenses can be low if you have limited personal expenses. Actually the personal expenses depend on your social needs that include haircut, toiletries, clothes etc. It is very important that you should remember that all the above dues are in round figure and depends on how you live and how you manage your expenses.