Malaysia is becoming the new favourite higher education destination for students across the world. The country is maintaining a top-notch quality of education in all of its higher education institutes. There are over 100 recognised universities offering more than 150 courses. If you are looking for a place to get quality higher education, a diverse mixture of culture, and relatively lower cost, Malaysia seems the perfect destination.

Rapid Improvement in Higher Education Sector: Malaysian universities are improving rapidly, and their best universities are ranked in the top 250 according to QS ranking. Moreover, some universities’ computer science and engineering courses rank among the world’s top 100 courses. All of these are possible due to the unparallel effort of the Malaysian education system in its international standard of education.

Low Cost of Education and Living Expenses: The country offers a relatively low cost in its academic fees and living expenses for students. The cost is much lower than in countries like the UK, the USA, Australia, and Canada.

No Language Barrier: Many Malaysian universities offer courses in English. Unlike many European countries, English is widely popular in the country. Moreover, Bahasa Malaysia, the country’s official language, is considered one of the easiest languages to learn in the world.

Rich and Diverse Culture: Malaysia’s rich and diverse culture is reflected in its people, architecture, food, festivals, and languages. Studying here will significantly increase your knowledge and understanding of cultures around the world.

Job Opportunities: International students are allowed to work 20 hours per week (part-time). Students can work in markets, restaurants, hotels, and petrol stations. After graduation, the employment prospects also widen. There are many reputable job openings in the country for international graduates.

Safety and Stability: The country is one of the most politically stable and safest countries globally. The weather condition is straightforward to adapt to. International students find it very easy to get comfortable very quickly.

Wanderlust for Travel Enthusiasts: The country is home to one of the highest tourists in the world. You will get numerous opportunities to travel to its gorgeous locations while studying. Places like Langkawi, Taman Negara, and Cameron Highlands will ensure that you never run out of scenic beauties.

One of the most crucial issues while intending to admit into a university is to ensure the proper funding. If you can manage to ensure your fund all by yourself, then you are okay. But what about if you are not able to manage your funding? Well, in that case, a scholarship can help you in proceeding with your studies.

To help you with your academic programme, several scholarships available. The scholarships are often offered by the Government or the universities. The scholarship facility ranges from partial scholarship to full-funding scholarship. At present, there are around 200 scholarships available. Of them, some renowned scholarships are illustrated in the following:

Malaysian Government Scholarship: This is the most reputed scholarship provided by the ministry of education of Malaysia. The most fascinating part of this scholarship is that it offers a fully-funded scholarship to the eligible one. This scholarship includes Masters and PhD programmes. The subjects included in this scholarship are Seafood safety, communication technology, engineering sciences, agriculture, fisheries, health, public health, data science, Islamic finance. Under this scholarship, you will get the opportunity to study in the Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, University Teknologi Malaysia, Multimedia University and so on. The scholarship is available to domestic and international students.

MMU High Achievers Scholarship: The scholarship is available to international students and comes with partial and full funding. It involves post-graduate, Research level programmes for international students. The students who will acquire this scholarship will enjoy the tuition fee, registration fee, student activity fee, university resource fee-free of cost.

Taylor’s Excellence Awards: This scholarship is available for both local and international students and is sponsored by Taylor’s College, Malaysia. The scholarship offers a partial funding facility that comes up with a waiver in tuition fees. This scholarship is available in the undergraduate degree programme.

Apart from these scholarships, almost every university offer scholarships to eligible candidates.

To apply for the visa of Malaysia, you must ensure that the following documents are with you:

• Completed student visa application form and signed by the applicant
• Offer letter from the chosen educational institution
• Two passport-sized photographs
• Academic transcripts
• Two copies of your passport (Photocopy)
• Evidence of full-time study permit by the Ministry of Home Affairs
• Health certificate
• Statement of financial solvency
• Proof of security and personal bond

For applying for the visa, you will need around 5,800 BDT for single and multiple entries. To apply for the student visa of Malaysia, you must ensure the student pass initially. To attain this, you will have to send your application to the institution you intend to study. If they accept your application, they will send you a notification of acceptance. If you manage to get the letter, you will have to send all the necessary documents to the respective institution of your choice. After scrutinisation, the institution will send you a copy of the acceptance. Also, the educational institution will send a copy to the Department of Malaysian Immigration. And within two weeks, you are expected to receive your student pass sticker. After that, you can apply for a visa.

Reading about all these things can be overwhelming. Let us help you ease into things with direct communication from our team members. You can also hear directly from the students who are living in Malaysia.

Sometimes it can be not very clear for students to choose the right course for higher education. Malaysia offers many courses for students, and some courses are in high demand within the country and outside the country as well. Top courses in Malaysia are:

Tuition fees vary at each institution in Malaysia but will be lower compared to expensive countries. On average, an international student can expect to pay around 1700 USD per year for a bachelor’s degree. A master’s degree will cost about 2675 USD per year. Private universities may have higher tuition fees, especially for specialised subjects like Medicine.

All students coming to Malaysia for higher education will enjoy a low cost of living compared to other popular destinations. The cost will vastly vary depending on the location of accommodation and personal lifestyle. But for most students, a monthly budget of 460 USD will provide a comfortable life in Malaysia. A student can get by each year with roughly 5,625 USD for living expenses. This estimation will serve as a guide for your expenditure in Malaysia. However, geographical location and personal lifestyle can alter this estimation quite significantly.

In Malaysia, there is a slight difference between permanent residence and citizenship. A person acquiring the status of permanent residence can enjoy the most benefits as citizens. But he/she will be devoid of voting rights. However, a person can attain permanent residence if he/she fulfils the criteria.

Minimum Living Period: To apply for a permanent residence, a person must live five years in Malaysia. To be more specific, the person can only apply for permanent residence if he/she has finished staying in Malaysia for at least five years.

Professionals: The permanent residence status gets easier if you belong to the professional classes. The Government of Malaysia has smoothened the residence status for some of the professionals. After your graduation, if you managed to acquire a professional degree or certificate, you will be considered professionals. You can work as a lawyer, doctor, engineer and so on. After fulfilling the minimum criteria, you must obtain a recommendation letter from the local Malaysian agency. Some of the agencies that can be cited here are the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Business, Ministry of Higher Learning, Central Bank and so on. Apart from this clearance, you will also need to acquire a ‘Certificate of Good Conduct’ from your country of origin. To be specific, if you are from Bangladesh, you will need to attain this certificate from your country. You will also need a good-standing Malaysian citizen for sponsorship.

PR from Employment: If you lack the above criteria, don’t worry. You can also attain permanent residence status with the help of your employer. In this case, your employer will recommend you for your residence status and issue a recommendation letter. For attaining this facility, you must possess a professional degree. Also, you will need to be certified by the relevant agency in Malaysia. Apart from these, you will require a ‘Certificate of Good Conduct’ from your recruiter. Also, you will have to have a minimum three-year working experience with government or private organisations.

PR through Points: One of the exceptional yet interesting aspects of the permanent residence status of Malaysia is to attain certain points to ensure the residence. It is a system that marks the residence status of an applicant based on age, academic qualification, language proficiency, length of stay, kinship ties, investment in Malaysia, employment. These criteria hold different number value. And if these criteria depict a fairly well score, then the person is to say to attain the permanent residence status.

For Scholarship: To ensure a place in our dream country of Malaysia, you will need to ensure some documents. Although it varies many times, the following are must obtain:

• Valid passport
• Transcript of your exam
• Certificates of participation in extra-curricular activities
• Financial statement of your parents
• Personal statement
• Letter of recommendations
• Proof of eligibility

For Permanent Residence: To attain the permanent residence status, you will need to present some documents which are illustrated in the following:

• Certificate of good conduct
• Certificate of recommendation from the local agency of Malaysia
• Valid passport
• Passport-size photographs
• Personalised cover letter

Malaysia is home to many high-quality universities. However, there are a few that made Malaysia famous among the international universities. Some top universities in Malaysia are:

To enjoy the facility of the scholarship, you will need to fulfil some specific criteria. Although the criteria often vary as per the types of scholarships, general criteria for availing the scholarships in Malaysia is illustrated in the following:

• The age should not be more than 40 years while submitting an application
• Minimum upper second class or CGPA of 3.5 out of 4.00 in the bachelor programme
• To apply for the scholarship in Masters or PhD, the candidate should possess a CGPA of 3.50 out of 4.00
• Present the documents of the English language proficiency test. Usually, in Malaysia, IELTS or TOEFL are preferred. For IELTS, the candidate must have at least a 6.5 score. For TOEFL, at least 580 in paper-based test, 230 in computer-based test and 92 in internet-based test.
• Good health condition with the certificate from the doctor
• A good, well-written statement of purpose

To facilitate your desire to study in Malaysia, the following tips and tricks can be helpful:

Do Thorough research: Before applying, conduct thorough research on the popular educational institutions of Malaysia. Different institutions pose different benefits and scholarship opportunity. So, search thoroughly and match your needs.

Remember Deadlines: The universities in Malaysia offer scholarships and admission at a specific time of the year with a strict deadline. So, please keep in mind this issue.

Be Organised: Various Malaysian educational institutions offer a wide number of programmes and scholarships. So, to keep track of this vast information, try to be organised. You can note down the basic information and organise them accordingly to speed up your endeavour.

The above suggestions are expected to help you in your intention to study at a Malaysian university.