University of Macau
Encyclopedia
The University of Macau, ;, established in 1981, was the first and currently the largest (in terms of student population) university in Macau
, a former Portuguese
colony
. It was formerly known as University of East Asia , and was renamed the University of Macau in 1991. The university offers about 100 Doctoral, Master's and Bachelor's degree programs. English is the main medium of instruction, although certain programs are taught in Chinese, Portuguese and Japanese. The current Chancellor of UM is chief executive
Fernando Chui and the Rector is Wei Zhao.
The university's campus on Taipa Island has expanded dramatically in recent years as a result of the region's rapid economic development and Macau's 1999 return to China
. This expansion has allowed Macau to develop local talent as it evolves beyond its colonial past. Student enrollment rose from several hundred students in the 1980s to over five thousand today. Over the same period, the percentage of local Macanese students has soared from 39% to 80%.
On 27 June 2009 it was officially announced by the Government of Macau that the University of Macau will build its new campus on 1 km2. of Hengqin
island, in a stretch directly facing the Cotai area, south of the current border post. Construction of the campus shall take 3 years and will include an underwater tunnel. Macau law shall apply in the University campus and it will not be necessary to pass a formal border post.
In 1988, the Macau government entrusted the Macau Foundation to acquire the university. The three-year undergraduate programs were expanded to four-year programs, while English remained the main medium of instruction. In 1991, a new university charter was put in place and the university became a public university and was renamed as University of Macau. The student enrollment rose to about three thousands and the percentage of Macau students rose to above 80%. Major construction began in 2003, that includes a new academic building, a student center, four hostel buildings for housing students and stuff, a scientific research center building, as well as the Chinese Medicine Center. The project is expected to be completed in 2011.
The university has five research faculties in the fields of Business Administration, Social Sciences
and Humanities
, Science
and Technology
, Law
, and Education
, as well as three education centers: Center for Pre-University Studies, Center for Continuing Studies and Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences. It offers doctorate
, Master's, undergraduate, and Bacharelato (higher diploma
) programs with more than 360 academic staff members involved in teaching or research.
Every year, the Faculty arranges interships in local companies and government departments. More than 12 exchange programmes have been established with universities in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal and the USA.
Graduate degrees in the Faculty has been developed since 1993, leading to the Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Electromechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, E-Commerce, Mathematics.
At present, there are 33 laboratories for teaching and research purposes in various science and engineering fields.
, the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific and the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific
. The university's student exchange programmes currently bring over 100 students every year from Europe
, Japan
, the Philippines
, New Zealand
and the United States
. Starting in 2001, the university has been recruiting students in 14 provinces and cities in China
.
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, a former Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colony
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
. It was formerly known as University of East Asia , and was renamed the University of Macau in 1991. The university offers about 100 Doctoral, Master's and Bachelor's degree programs. English is the main medium of instruction, although certain programs are taught in Chinese, Portuguese and Japanese. The current Chancellor of UM is chief executive
Chief Executive of Macau
The Chief Executive of Macau is the head of the government of Macau, a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China and a former Portuguese overseas province.Under the Basic Law of Macau, the CE's role is:...
Fernando Chui and the Rector is Wei Zhao.
The university's campus on Taipa Island has expanded dramatically in recent years as a result of the region's rapid economic development and Macau's 1999 return to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. This expansion has allowed Macau to develop local talent as it evolves beyond its colonial past. Student enrollment rose from several hundred students in the 1980s to over five thousand today. Over the same period, the percentage of local Macanese students has soared from 39% to 80%.
On 27 June 2009 it was officially announced by the Government of Macau that the University of Macau will build its new campus on 1 km2. of Hengqin
Hengqin
Hengqin Dao is an island in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city and Special Economic Zone in the Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China...
island, in a stretch directly facing the Cotai area, south of the current border post. Construction of the campus shall take 3 years and will include an underwater tunnel. Macau law shall apply in the University campus and it will not be necessary to pass a formal border post.
History
University of Macau's predecessor is the privately owned University of East Asia which was established in 1981. The university started with several undergraduate programs which followed the academic structure of British universities with three years of study. English was the main medium of instruction and the majority of the students were from Hong Kong.In 1988, the Macau government entrusted the Macau Foundation to acquire the university. The three-year undergraduate programs were expanded to four-year programs, while English remained the main medium of instruction. In 1991, a new university charter was put in place and the university became a public university and was renamed as University of Macau. The student enrollment rose to about three thousands and the percentage of Macau students rose to above 80%. Major construction began in 2003, that includes a new academic building, a student center, four hostel buildings for housing students and stuff, a scientific research center building, as well as the Chinese Medicine Center. The project is expected to be completed in 2011.
Faculties
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, and Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, as well as three education centers: Center for Pre-University Studies, Center for Continuing Studies and Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences. It offers doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
, Master's, undergraduate, and Bacharelato (higher diploma
Higher diploma
A higher diploma is an academic award in Libya, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and Oman. In Libya the award is equivalent to a bachelor's degree in engineering or technology, in Hong Kong it is below the standard of the bachelor's degree, in Ireland it is above the standard of the bachelor's...
) programs with more than 360 academic staff members involved in teaching or research.
Faculty of Business Administration
The Faculty of Business Administration is the largest faculty in the university enrolling about one-third of the undergraduate population. The medium of instruction for courses offered in the faculty is English. Currently it offers nine different undergraduate programs through its three departments: Department of Accounting and Information Management, Department of Finance and Business Economics, and Department of Management and Marketing. In addition, the Faculty of Business Administration also offers a two-year MBA program as well as eight doctorate programs.Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities consists of the Department of Chinese, the Department of Communication, the Department of Economics, the Department of English, the Department of Government and Public Administration, the Department of Portuguese, the Department of Psychology and the Department of Sociology. The Faculty provides more than 500 courses on average every semester, including Economics, Statistics, Econometrics, Political Science, Public Administration, Contemporary China Studies, Sociology, Chinese, Portuguese, English, Communications, Journalism and Public Communication, Psychology, Japanese, Historical and Cultural Relations between the East and the West, etc. The Faculty also offers a variety of master’s and doctoral programmes.Every year, the Faculty arranges interships in local companies and government departments. More than 12 exchange programmes have been established with universities in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal and the USA.
Faculty of Science and Technology
The Faculty of Science and Technology was founded in 1989. Currently, a solid undergraduate four-year degree in the following departments has been developed: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Department of Computer and Information Science and Department of Mathematics. More and more students have been accepted in big firms world-wide, adding to the rising recognition of the University of Macau in recent years.Faculty of Law
The Faculty of Law offers bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and postgraduate certificate programmes in the Chinese, Portuguese and English languages. The bachelor’s programmes is to prepare jurists who are familiar with Macao SAR legal system; the master’s and PhD Programmes purport to educate knowledgeable and qualified legal professional jurists who are competent to conduct theoretical research and teaching in Macao Law, Comparative Law, European Law, International Law and International Business Law. The teaching system of the Faculty basically follows the Roman-German regime with strict standards in teaching style, student recruitment and examination. The faculty members consist of legal experts from Macao, Mainland China, Portugal, Austria, Italy, Brazil, Belgium, India and other countries.Faculty of Education
The Faculty of Education offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes. The Faculty provides degree programmes of Secondary Education in Chinese, English and Mathematics, Primary Education and Pre-Primary Education, Educational Administration, Educational Psychology, School Counselling, Curriculum and Instruction, , Physical Education and Sports Studies, etc. An internship system is well established for students to have academic and educational exchanges with other education institutes and universities and to deepen their understanding on contemporary international education.Graduate degrees in the Faculty has been developed since 1993, leading to the Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Electromechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, E-Commerce, Mathematics.
At present, there are 33 laboratories for teaching and research purposes in various science and engineering fields.
The library
The University of Macau Library is the largest library in the territory. It is a five-storey building that has a working space area of 15,000 m² and a seating capacity of approximately 400. The print collection includes 210,000 volumes of monographs, 4,000 periodical titles, and 12,000 volumes of old Chinese editions.Academic links
Since 1991, the university has established academic links and collaborations with more than 90 institutions around the world. It is a member of the International Association of Universities, the International Association of University PresidentsInternational Association of University Presidents
The International Association of University Presidents is an association of university chief executives from higher education institutions around the world...
, the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific and the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific
University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific
University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific is a voluntary regional association of government, non-government and/or university representatives of the higher education sector established in 1993 to enhance cooperation and exchange of people and expertise through increased mobility of higher...
. The university's student exchange programmes currently bring over 100 students every year from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Starting in 2001, the university has been recruiting students in 14 provinces and cities in China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
.