Before the establishment of Ramkhamhaeng University in 1971, Thailand had long suffered what might be called “a crisis in the quest for higher education”. At that time the number of high school graduates seeking seats to the universities outnumbered the admission capacity of all universities combined. The problem finally prompted the parliament to pass a law authorizing the establishment of Ramkhamhaeng University, named after King Ramkhamhaeng the Great (ca. 1239-1317), who invented the Thai alphabet, or ‘RU’ as it is commonly known … the country’s first open-admission university.
The university was granted permission to use a 300 rai (125 acre) plot of land in the eastern suburb of Bangkok as its main campus; this land once housed the International Trade Fair. With the growing number of students, Ramkhamhaeng has expanded to Bang-Na campus, about 25 kilometers away from the main campus. In the national program, freshmen classes are held at the extension campus while classes for upper level students remain at Huamark. Additionally, there are 22 more campuses all over Thailand.
In 1999, Ramkhamhaeng University expanded its educational opportunities by forming the Institute of International Studies (IIS-RU) as a faculty for the university’s international program to satisfy the ever growing demand for international higher education.