His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla's Tenets

Let considerations of personal gain take second place to the overall benefit of Mankind; prestige and prosperity are the natural rewards of dedication to work.

Vision “ The Faculty of Science offers an education which aims at producing quality science graduates and undertakes research of international standard in selected fields.”

Mission “ To produce graduates with knowledge and virtue and contribute to society through the dissemination of current scientific knowledge. To benefit the community and development of Southern Thailand through the application of research of international standard. ”

Faculty of Science Prince of Songkla University

          The Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University (PSU) , was founded in 1967 and used part of the then Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medical Science in Bangkok as its temporary office. Established during a period of substantial growth in Thailand’s history, the Faculty of Science, and PSU, were soon moved to the present campus, located in southern Thailand’s major city of Hat Yai. The Faculty of Science was founded in order to provide higher learning in a region outside the central metropolis of Bangkok, especially for the southern provinces.

          Since first moving to Hat Yai in 1972, the Faculty of Science at PSU has sought to provide quality higher education, conduct research to the benefit of science and local industry, and to provide services to benefit the population in the surrounding communities and provinces in southern Thailand.

Background Information

          Since its inception with 5 departments and 50 students studying for their Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry and mathematics, the Faculty of Science has continued to develop and broaden its mission to meet the needs of the ever-changing educational demands of Thailand.

          Today, the Faculty of Science is an integral part of the university. The faculty now offers 40 undergraduate and graduate programs about 4,000 science majors.

          The Faculty of science, today, is one of the largest faculties in the university. It is responsible for a greater teaching load than any other faculty. Its teaching staff, numbering 500, is the largest. The Faculty of Science consists of 12 departments 3 programs/division and 7 support units.

Teaching

          The Faculty of science keeps abreast of the rapid changes both the economy and technology and in particular the impacts of globalization. Every department and program constantly reviews its curricula and regularly revises them to ensure that they are always up-to-date. More and more programs are being initiated every year. The faculty encourages its departments to put more emphasis on graduate programs. Every department, except the Department of General Science, now offers at least one graduate program.

International Relations

          As a result of progress in communications technology, world communities are coming closer and closer together. Realizing this impact, the faculty is trying to promote close contact with the community, mainly through academic exchange, in order to adjust itself to the changes in the outside world and to maintain excellence in academic endeavours. Academic exchanges with other institutions include such activitites as staff exchange, student exchange, joint research, graduate co-advisorship, joint academic program, and international conferences/seminars.

          Up to now, the faculty has cooperated with institutions in many countries around the world. Memorandum of understanding (MOU) and agreement were signed with 30 foreign institutions to maintain close relationship and academic exchanges between both sides. Also a joint doctoral degree program in ecology, evolution and systematics and Ecology between Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University and Griffith University, Australia, has been established since 2002, this international graduate program offers a significant academic impact to the faculty through joint research and teaching activities, and also provides advanced education in this field to both Thai students and those from our neighbouring countries. Apart from the collaborations with foreign academic institutions, international agencies/organizations which have assisted the faculty in terms of research and human resource development for example IDP, USAID, JSPS, ADB, UNESCO, EU etc.

Academic Services

          Providing academic services to the community is another main function of the Faculty of Science. There are various forms of services ranging from providing consulting services to the production of audio-visual materials. The following are examples of academic services provided by the Faculty of Science:

• Water and waste water analysis
• Glass blowing
• Quantitative analysis of the microorganisms in rubber gloves
• Quantitative analysis of protein in rubber gloves
• Underground water prospecting
• Geophysical exploration
• Dissemination of information concerning drugs and medicinal plants.
• Advice on statistics
• Analysis and design of business computer systems
• Supply of liquid nitrogen
• Repair of electronic equipment
• Short course training in computer, statistics, chemistry, physics, etc.
• Production of video tapes
• Artwork and graphic design
• Printing services

          The Faculty of Science places a strong emphasis on its academic services to the community since the faculty wants to play a role in the development of the region, which is responsive to its needs.