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◄Faculty of Economics and Administration►

HISTORY OF

THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND ADMINISTRATION

First established in 1959 as the Department of Economics within the Faculty of Arts, University of
Malaya in 1959. The Faculty of Economics and Administration (FEA) was founded in May 1966 to
meet the nation's growing demand for a professional workforce. Beginning with just 14 students
and three academic personnel, headed by Royal Professor Ungku Aziz, FEA has evolved into a
flourishing academic community of 876 students, and 48 academic staff, among them professors
and lecturers with international reputation in their respective fields.

Drawing the strength of four departments; Economics, Administrative Studies and Politics,
Development Studies and Applied Statistics, FEA currently offers the Bachelor of Economics
degree, and seven programmes at the postgraduate level, Master of Economics, Master of Public
Administration, Master of Applied Statistics, Master of Development Studies, Master of Research
in Economics, Master of Research in Public Administration and Doctor of Philosophy. Of the 876
students, 418 are enrolled in the undergraduate programme while the rest are postgraduate students,
including 158 international students from various countries such as South Korea, Vietnam,
Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
China, Nigeria, Sudan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Maldives, Ghana, Japan, Thailand, Afghanistan, Libya,
Bangladesh, Syria, Gambia, Yemen, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, United States and
Canada.

The FEA also administers the Population Studies Unit (PSU) that was set up in 1979 as part of the
Population and Family Health Project funded by the World Bank and the United Nations Fund for
Population Activities. Research and training on population related issues are conducted under the
auspices of the PSU.

The FEA is intensively engaged in enhancing academic excellence in the field of monetary and
financial economics through the Tun Ismail Ali Chair (TIAC), established in August 2000. As of
31st August 2008, there have been six distinguished holders of the Chair, Professor Dr. Yilmaz
Akyuz, Professor Ronald McKinnon, Dato' Seri Panglima Andrew L.T. Sheng and Professor Dr.
Takatoshi Ito, Professor Ajit Singh and Professor Dr. Thorsten Beck.

To initiate and enhance research, teaching and dissemination of evidence-based knowledge in the
area of social security, including old age financial protection, the Social Security Research Centre
(SSRC) was established in March 2011. The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) of Malaysia has
graciously provided an endowment fund to establish centre and the nation’s first endowed Chair in
Old Age Financial Protection (OAFPC) at University of Malaya.

In November 2006, the Royal Professor Ungku Aziz Chair was established to honour the
contribution of Royal Professor Ungku Aziz in the fields of education and economic development.
Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs is the first holder of the Royal Professor Ungku Aziz Chair. In
conjunction with the establishment of the Chair, the Centre for Poverty and Development Studies
was set up at the Faculty to serve as a focal point for academic work, research, consultancy and
technical assistance in areas related to poverty and development.

In upholding its research stance, the FEA collaborates wth the Malaysian Economic Association in
the publication of an international journal, the Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies. FEA also
has produced the International Journal of Institutions and Economies (IJIE).

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