USM History

USM was established as the second university in Malaysia in 1969 and it was first known as Universiti Pulau Pinang .

The established of USM began with an agreement reached through a resolution which was approved by the penang state Legislative Assembly in 1962 ,which called for the establishment of a university college in the state .

From its humble beginnings with an intake of 57 science students in 1969 ,Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) had made great strides . Today , USM offers a wide range of courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels to more than 28,000 students .
USM has also emerged as one of the most widely-acclaimed universities not only locally but also abroad . The success achieved in various fields especially in research , including the latest through the Asian Innovation Award in which USM emerged as the only winner from this country ,has placed USM on the world map .
On 3 sept 2008, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was declared the Apex (Accelerated Programme for Excellence) University by the ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia .