UTAR sets international benchmark with postgraduate studies

SUNGAI LONG: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) supports an individual’s goal of career advancement through its postgraduate programmes, which are considered the preferred choice for many as the courses offer specialised knowledge and training in specific fields or disciplines, resulting in globally qualified graduates with a competitive edge in the job market.

Its Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research director Prof Ts Dr Lim Yang Mooi said: “Various advancements in the world today have called for more talents to be nurtured and recruited to contribute towards strengthening the economy and human resource developments.

“In view of this, specialised and specific requirements of employees have increased. Our blended learning is an answer to this, because our programmes can be conducted physically and virtually, thus providing flexibility to study from anywhere.”

UTAR offers postgraduate diplomas or Masters by coursework, which involves studying a specific set of core courses and a selection of electives, as well as preparing a project. Students can also choose to undertake the Masters programme in mixed mode, which involves studying a few key core courses and research methodology course(s) and also preparing a dissertation.

Students who are more inclined towards research can also opt to undertake the Master programme by research, which involves taking up research methodology course(s) and preparing a dissertation, which can be furthered with a Doctor of Philosophy.

“Apart from enhancing one’s professional credentials, our postgraduate programmes provide networking opportunities with other professionals, researchers and industry leaders of respective fields, which also enable our students to obtain cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills. This opportunity paves the way for our students to gain valuable mentorship, collaboration, job referrals and even more career opportunities, locally or globally,” she said.

“These engagements with experts from other fields also allow our postgraduate students and university to stay informed about the latest developments and trends and emerging technologies, which are valuable insights for us to constantly enhance our syllabi and programmes.

“Our postgraduate programmes are also rich with opportunities for students to develop critical thinking and analytical skills through advanced research. It would enable them to engage in innovative processes and hone their problem-solving and creativity skills, thus contributing to the advancement of their field,” added Lim.

“From a personal aspect, we believe our postgraduate programmes are also beneficial in helping our postgraduate students to learn more about themselves, so that they may identify their newfound abilities, enhance their strengths, and overcome challenges with more resilience.”

In addition, postgraduate students have an opportunity to join the Mutual Credit Recognition Programmes from UTAR MoU partner universities. The student under this particular programme will be recognised as a full-time student of both institutions and shall only pay tuition fees to the home University. Students who fulfil both requirements from the home and host universities will be awarded a degree from both institutions.

UTAR has collaborated with several universities for the Mutual Credit Recognition Programmes, including Tunghai University, National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University (National Yang-Ming University together with National Chiao Tung University) and Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg. The partnership with these institutions is promised to be a remarkable chapter in UTAR’s shared commitment to academic excellence and global engagement.

Currently, UTAR has established partnerships with over 650 renowned higher education institutions and corporate organisations worldwide, giving postgraduate students an advantage in recognition.

The university also engages in the provision and conduct of research, consultation, management and leadership training, and other related educational services at its Sungai Long and Kampar campuses in Malaysia.

For more information, please visit www.utar.edu.my or call 05-468 8888 (Kampar Campus) or 03-9086 0288 (Sungai Long Campus).