Jump to content

University of Macau

Coordinates: 22°07′48″N 113°32′45″E / 22.13004°N 113.54579°E / 22.13004; 113.54579
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"UMac" redirects here. For other uses, see UMAC (disambiguation).
University of Macau
澳門大學
Universidade de Macau
The emblem of the University of Macau, featuring a five-towered crest encircled by golden rings and the name of the university in Chinese and Portuguese
MottoHumanity, Integrity, Propriety, Wisdom, Sincerity[1]
TypePublic Research Coeducational Higher education institution
Established1991
Academic affiliations
UMAP, IAU, IAUP, CRUP, AULP, GHMUA, UASR
ChairmanPeter Lam Kam Seng
ChancellorSam Hou Fai[a]
RectorYonghua Song
Vice RectorsMichael King Man HUI
(Academic Affairs)
Rui Paulo da Silva Martins
(Global Affairs)
Wei GE
(Research)
Mok Kai Meng
(Student Affairs)[2]
Xu Jian
(Administration)
Academic staff
650
Students15,000+ (2024) [3]
Location
Avenida da Universidade, Taipa
,
Macau

22°07′48″N 113°32′45″E / 22.13004°N 113.54579°E / 22.13004; 113.54579
CampusSuburb and concession
109 hectares (1.09 km2)
Medium of InstructionEnglish (main), Portuguese, Chinese
ColoursBlue Red Gold
     
Websiteum.edu.mo
umac.mo
Map
University of Macau
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese澳門大學
Simplified Chinese澳门大学
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinÀomén Dàxué
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingou3 mun4*2 daai6 hok6
University of East Asia
Traditional Chinese私立東亞大學
Simplified Chinese私立东亚大学
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSī​lì Dōngyà Dàxué
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingsi1 laap6 dung1 aa3 daai6 hok6
Portuguese name
PortugueseUniversidade de Macau

The University of Macau (UMAC or UM)[b] is a Macau public university located on Hengqin Island, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. It was established by the Macau legislature in 1991 and has been funded by the Government of Macau since then.

History

[edit]

1981–1991

[edit]

In March 1981, the private University of East Asia was established. In the beginning, the majority of the students came from Hong Kong.[citation needed]

With the signing of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration in 1987, in order to meet the manpower needs during the transitional period before the return of Macao, the Macao Foundation under the Government of Portuguese Macau purchased the private University of East Asia in 1988 for 130 million patacas.[citation needed]

Post-1991

[edit]

In 1991, the Legislative Assembly of Macau promulgated Decree-Law No. 50/91/M to establish the University of Macau as a new institution of higher education, and transfer all rights of the University of East Asia to the University of Macau without any formalities. All higher education courses, teachers and administrative staff of the University of East Asia, except for polytechnic higher education programmes, were also transferred to the University of Macau.[4] The then Polytechnic Institute of the University of East Asia became independent as the public Macau Polytechnic Institute (now Macau Polytechnic University). The graduate school and the open college of the University of East Asia that were not purchased by the Macau government, were merged to form the private East Asia Open College (now City University of Macau).[citation needed]

In 1999, the handover of Macau to China took place. The new Judicial Regime of the University of Macau and the new Charter of the University of Macau were officially passed at the Legislative Assembly of Macau and came into effect in September 2006.[citation needed]

In 2009, the Central People's Government of China authorised the Government of Macao to exercise jurisdiction over the new campus of the university located on Hengqin Island, Guangdong province.[5] On 20 December 2009, then President of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party Hu Jintao officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus. In early 2013 the Macau Legislative Assembly passed Law 3/2013 providing for the application of Macau Law on campus effective on opening day.[6] On 5 November, then Vice Premier of the State Council Wang Yang officiated for the new campus inauguration ceremony. In the 2014–2015 academic year, the University of Macau began to conduct all classes on the new and modern campus.[citation needed]

Faculty students and Macau residents can enter and exit the campus through an underwater tunnel. This means there are no border controls between the university and Macau.[7]

With the approval of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the University of Macau has established three state key laboratories, namely State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, and State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City.[8]

In 2016, the University of Macau established a residential college system similar to that of Oxbridge in the United Kingdom.[9]

Rankings

[edit]
University rankings
Global – Overall
ARWU World[10]301–400 (2025)
QS World[11]=285 (2026)
THE World[12]180 (2025)
USNWR Global[13]230 (2025)
Regional – Overall
QS Asia[14]99 (2025)
THE Asia[15]34 (2025)
USNWR Asia[13]56 (2025)

The University of Macau is ranked No. 180 in 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, No 34. in the THE Asia University Rankings, No 14 in the THE Young University Rankings,[16] No 36 in the THE Asia University Rankings, and No 1 in the Association of Portuguese Speaking Universities.[17] It is ranked #285 in 2026 QS World University Rankings. In the U.S. News & World Report's Best Global Universities Rankings, it is ranked No. 230.[18]

Map showing the University located on the mainland across from Macau
The University of Macau's campus lies across the river from Macau, connected by a tunnel

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The Chief Executive of Macau is the chancellor on an ex officio basis.
  2. ^ UMAC is widely used on university website domains, such as um2.umac.mo, or to distinguish it from other universities with the same abbreviation as UM, although the acronym is not recognized as an official abbreviation.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Elements of the University Identity". University of Macau. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  2. ^ "UM appoints Prof Mok Kai Meng as vice rector". 17 February 2022.
  3. ^ "UM Introduction". Retrieved Oct 14, 2024.
  4. ^ "Boletim Oficial -".
  5. ^ Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Assembly of the People's Republic of China on the delegation of powers to the Macau Special Administrative Region to exercise jurisdiction on the new campus of the University of Macau to be installed on Hengqin, also published via Chief Executive Notice No. 19/2009 in the Official Bulletin No. 35/2009. See Aviso do Chefe do Executivo n.º 19/2009
  6. ^ see Lei n.º 3/2013 Estabelece as normas fundamentais para a aplicação do Direito da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau no novo campus da Universidade de Macau na Ilha de Hengqin published in the Official Bulletin No. 8/2013.
  7. ^ "University of Macau's New Campus on Hengqin Island Put under Macao's Jurisdiction". Government of Macao. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  8. ^ "University of Macau – State Key Laboratories". University of Macau – State Key Laboratories. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Grove, Jack (2016-08-18). "University of Macau offers unlikely home for Oxbridge tradition". World University Rankings. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  10. ^ "ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities". Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  11. ^ "QS World University Rankings".
  12. ^ "University of Macau". Times Higher Education. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  13. ^ a b U.S. News. "2024-2025 Best Universities in the World". Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  14. ^ "QS University Rankings: Asia 2025". QS Top Universities. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Asia University Rankings". Times Higher Education. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  16. ^ "Young University Rankings". Times Higher Education. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  17. ^ "Young University Rankings 2022". 8 February 2022.
  18. ^ "US News Ranking".

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
  •  Media related to University of Macau at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website Edit this at Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=University_of_Macau&oldid=1314921291"