Malaysia
Roughly a third of the Melbourne cost of living; we have not read the current tuition off the page
- What you need
- Monash Foundation Year for an 11-year certificate; direct entry with 12 years or a recognised foundation
Top 1000 · Malaysia
Top 1000 in Malaysia
17 routes, and we can submit every one of them today. A route belongs here when the institution awarding the degree sits inside the QS 2027 top 1000 — not when the college you enrol at first does.
The cheapest of them is University of Southampton Malaysia at RM57,000 for the first year, tuition and living together. Reviewed 2026-08-22.
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Every route, by rank
Malaysia
Public-sector rates
Applications here run through a partner rather than our own account, and a service fee may apply — unlike every other route on this board, which is free to apply through. We will state the exact fee before you start, and you may also apply to UM yourself: its admissions portal is public.
Malaysia
Well below the UK campus; High Achievers scholarships available
- What you need
- Foundation in Engineering/Science/Business for an 11-year certificate, then the Nottingham degree
Malaysia
RM33,000 (Business foundation) — RM39,200 Engineering and Computer Science (≈ $8,140) tuition, first yearRM57,000 (≈ $14,100) with living costs
Award Foundation scholarships are read straight off the Certificate of Completed Secondary Education. Engineering and Computer Science: Excellent (5) in nine or more subjects is a 100% award, seven subjects RM13,000, six RM7,000, five RM3,000. Business: Excellent (5) in seven subjects is 100%, six RM13,000, five RM7,000, four RM3,000. Undergraduate awards run to 60% of year one plus 20–40% of later years for the top band, then RM25,000–30,000 and RM10,000–13,000. Separately, an education grant of RM1,500 (foundation) or up to RM5,000 (undergraduate) is open to everyone who does not hold a scholarship, and siblings and children of alumni get 10% off the first year. Only one award applies — they do not stack.
- What you need
- The foundation year accepts a Central Asian school-leaving certificate directly — no A-levels and no IELTS bar to clear first. Tajik Certificate of Completed Secondary Education: CGPA 4/5 with 4/5 in Physics or Mathematics for the Engineering and Computer Science foundation, CGPA 3.5/5 for the Business foundation. Direct degree entry needs A-levels, STPM, UEC or the IB.
- English
- IELTS 6.5 with 6.0 in every component for degrees and for the Engineering and Computer Science foundation; 5.5 with 5.5 in every component for the Business foundation. A 5.5 also enters the Engineering or Computer Science foundation through the Language Pathway, which adds an English module in semesters one and two rather than turning you away.
- Intakes
- Foundation: April, July and September. Undergraduate and postgraduate: September only.
Before the visa
- A deposit is required to hold the place and to qualify for any scholarship or grant. It counts towards tuition and is not refundable if you then decide not to enrol.
Malaysia
Public-sector rates
Two of USM's three graduation requirements for international doctoral candidates are not about your thesis: you must pass its Malaysian Culture and Malay Language course (LKM111) at grade C or better, and you must publish before you can graduate. There is also a Research Methodology course to pass in your first semester. On the visa, USM asks candidates to start the approval process AT LEAST THREE MONTHS before the registration date, and the student pass itself is only issued after you arrive in Malaysia and complete a medical examination there. Applications here also run through a partner rather than our own account, so a service fee may apply — we state the exact amount before you start, and USM's admissions portal is public if you would rather apply yourself.
- What you need
- Doctoral admission is by research: a supervisor and a research topic are named in the offer itself, so the proposal has to be strong enough for an academic to take it on before anything else happens.
- Intakes
- Registration dates are set per offer rather than by a single intake, and an offer is typically valid for six months from issue — you may register earlier than the stated date within that window.
Malaysia
Public-sector rates
Applications here run through a partner rather than our own account, and a service fee may apply — unlike every other route on this board, which is free to apply through. We will state the exact fee before you start, and you may also apply to UPM yourself: its admissions portal is public.
Malaysia
Public-sector rates
Applications here run through a partner rather than our own account, and a service fee may apply — unlike every other route on this board, which is free to apply through. We will state the exact fee before you start, and you may also apply to UTM yourself: its admissions portal is public.
Malaysia
About RM31,455 a year for engineering, including hostel (≈ $7,760) tuition, first year
Award UTP states it helps students apply to more than 100 sponsoring bodies, including the PETRONAS Scholarship Loan Fund and Yayasan UTP
- What you need
- A-level, STPM, UEC or a recognised foundation with mathematics — plus physics or chemistry for the engineering degrees. UTP's own foundation year is the route in for students without one, and asks CGPA 3.00/4.00 to progress into engineering.
- English
- TOEFL paper-based 500 or equivalent
- Intakes
- January, May and September
Before the visa
- About RM13,700 before you start — registration RM5,000, EMGS visa and insurance RM2,500, a refundable RM3,250 personal bond, advance tuition RM2,700, application RM200 and RM50 alumni
Malaysia
RM28,160 (foundation) / RM35,600–48,960 (degree) (≈ $6,950) tuition, first year
Award Considered automatically on application — the guide states every applicant is assessed
- What you need
- Foundation (1 year) after an 11-year certificate; direct degree entry with 12 years or a completed foundation. Engineering and Science require mathematics, and physics or chemistry.
- English
- IELTS 6.0 with no band below 6.0 for degrees; IELTS 5.5 with no band below 5.0 for the foundation year. Below that, the university's own English course (EAP) runs 10 weeks per level.
- Intakes
- Degrees and diplomas in March and September; foundation in January, March, July and September
Before the visa
- RM3,000 security deposit for Uzbek, Kazakh and Kyrgyz citizens
Malaysia
RM21,931 (foundation year) (≈ $5,410) tuition, first year
Award Up to 45% off the first year's tuition, and it is a merit award rather than a rate everyone gets: it asks for IELTS 7 — a full band above INTI's own entry bar — together with a strong SAT score and strong school grades. For a student who qualifies, the first year lands roughly between RM22,800 and RM28,000 (about $5,600–6,800) against RM41,460 at the sticker rate; the RM5,991 of pre-arrival charges is on top either way, and so is 6% SST. A further 20% off the second year is available on your results at INTI, which would take it from RM26,338 to about RM21,100. Treat all of that as an estimate until INTI puts the award in an offer letter — we will tell you honestly whether your grades reach it before you build a budget on it.
- What you need
- 11-year certificate (attestat) accepted directly onto the American Degree Transfer Program bachelor's — no foundation year needed. INTI's own foundation, leading into an INTI bachelor's with a fee rebate on continuation, is a separate route with its own terms.
- English
- IELTS 5.5 for the American Degree Transfer Program. Below 5.5, INTI provides its own English classes at no additional tuition, up to one year — that year still means twelve months of living costs and a visa before the degree itself starts, so it is not a free year, only a free class. Owner-reported (2026-08-22), not yet read off INTI's own page. INTI's own foundation carries a different English bar.
- Intakes
- January, May and August
Before the visa
- RM600 refundable general deposit, plus RM2,847 visa charges and RM2,544 registration before you arrive — RM5,991 in total, and the RM600 comes back
Malaysia
RM28,400 (foundation) / RM32,600–35,800 (first degree level) (≈ $7,000) tuition, first year
APU's fees stop being refundable once your student pass is approved — and that includes if your English then falls short of the course the visa was issued for. We check the English bar before anything is paid.
- What you need
- O-level, IGCSE or equivalent for the foundation year and the diplomas; a completed foundation, A-level or equivalent for the degree.
- English
- Below APU's bar, its own Intensive English runs in seven four-week levels at RM2,750 each.
- Intakes
- Several intakes a year
Before the visa
- About RM11,900 before tuition: RM3,400 on accepting the offer, RM2,000 when the visa is approved, RM5,000 registration, plus a refundable RM500 library deposit and RM1,000 personal bond.
Malaysia
RM17,500–24,195 (foundation year, all-in) (≈ $4,320) tuition, first year
Award None published on the international fee schedules we hold. The prices below are the standard international rates, not a discounted offer, which is worth saying because they are lower than several discounted rates elsewhere on this board.
Applying here is not free, unlike most routes on this board — a service fee applies, and we state the exact amount before you start anything. Separately, IIUM bills by credit hours attempted, so a repeated subject is charged again, and it states that it may revise fees without notice. The totals here are its own published figures for international students and are a firm guide rather than a fixed quote.
- What you need
- The foundation year via IIUM Academy is the entry point for a school-leaving certificate; the bachelor's itself is entered after a foundation, matriculation or equivalent. Foundation streams are split across two campuses — Law, Human Sciences and Economics at Gombak; Engineering, Sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, Architecture, Nursing, Computer Science, Arabic, Islamic Revealed Knowledge and the language routes at Gambang.
- English
- Where your English does not yet meet the bar, IIUM does not reject the file — it adds its own proficiency course at RM2,800 per level (Arabic RM2,100), taken alongside the programme. Budget for it rather than assuming it away.
Before the visa
- RM2,248 to process the visa approval letter and RM800 for takaful and the student-pass conversion. A personal bond is also collected at the rate the Malaysian government sets for your nationality — it is returned when the student pass is cancelled at the end of study.
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Where else you could go at this level
The same tier in the other countries we can reach. Where a country is missing, we hold no route into it at this height — not that none exists.
United Kingdom 27Italy 14Australia 7Canada 5Hong Kong (SAR) 2United States 2China 1Netherlands 1Singapore 1
Or move the bar: Top 100, Top 300, Top 500. Everything we know about studying in Malaysia — visas, costs, funding — is on the Malaysia page.
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Which of these would take you
Send your certificate, your grades and your budget. We will tell you which of these Malaysia routes are realistic and which are not worth the application fee in your case.