Study@UBD

Universiti Brunei Darussalam continues to be one of the leading higher education institution in Brunei Darussalam.

After entering the 2020 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings in the 401 to 500 band, UBD rose to the 350-400 band this year. Among Asian universities, UBD places 60th and for universities under 50 years old, it ranks 80th. This makes UBD the fourth ranked university in ASEAN in one of the most influential university rankings in the world, confirming its status as an institution that is internationally recognised for excellence in teaching and research.

UBD has also shown a steady rise up the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. It currently ranks at 254 in the latest release, 44 places from last year’s 298. In all the indicators which include Academic reputation, Employer Reputation, Faculty-Student Ratio, Citations Per Faculty, International Faculty, and International Students, UBD has shown marked improvements. UBD is now ranked 86th QS Asia University Ranking and ranked 22nd among universities founded less than 50 years ago.

The university is ranked in multiple categories including 1st in outbound and in inbound student exchange, 13th in international faculty, 15th in faculty student ratio, and 23rd in international students in the 2019 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings.

It is an achievement that is the product of constant and persistent collective effort from the academic and administrative sectors in the university, and funding agencies outside of the institution in ensuring first-class quality education for every student in the university.

A UBD GenNext Degree

The UBD Generation Next or GenNextprogramme is made up of an inventive curriculum design where students are encouraged to explore different disciplines thus, will graduate with trans-disciplinary knowledge which may be very different from their major and minor declared. The institution believes that this makes up a well-rounded knowledgeable graduate which is key to succeeding in this modern, challenging environment.

The programme also includes the Discovery Year which is a 4-12-month experiential learning for students in the 6th and 7th semester in the university. Students have options of either studying abroad, carrying out volunteer and community services, creating entrepreneurial start-up companies or performing internship programmes. These real-life experience will help students develop transversal skills such as developing their self-confidence, being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses and having enhanced problem solving skills which are much needed and sought after by employers. Find out more about the UBD GenNext Degree Programme.

Disciplines A-Z

Financial Support

Local students, when all requirements are met, are qualified to apply for the Ministry of Education scholarship for local institutions. Meanwhile, financial support are also provided for international students by the Bursary, Universiti Brunei Darussalam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam.

Fee-paying students are given the option of paying their fees using the university installment schemes whereby students are allowed to distribute their payments equally throughout their study period in the institution. Find out more about financial support.

University Resources

Resources available to undergraduates in the university are in abundance, ranging from disciplinary expertise in each faculty to up-to-date resources and online learning materials to conducive learning environment and of course, state-of-the-art IT facilities for the use of the students in accessing online materials for their academic progression. These resources, be it online or on-site, are freely accessible to students who are on scholarship and fee paying. Users who are not from the institute but wish to have access to the university resources are also welcome to register and pay minimal fees for registration.

University Library

The Universiti Brunei Darussalam is committed to provide world-class and up-to-date resources to its university community. The university has upgraded the University Library to accommodate more individual and group study rooms, discussion spaces, study spaces, reading areas, shelving areas and computer rooms for the use of the over 500 staffs, 2700 full-time undergraduate students, 400 international undergraduates and 400 inbound exchange students. Please visit our UBD Library website.

IT Services

On a virtual level, the University Library has also expanded its former e-Resources and database subscriptions both local and international contents. This was done to include more literary resources on local publications from the Language and Literature Bureau, Brunei Darussalam and faculties in the university, and internationally renowned academic platforms such JSTOR, Econlit, Access Science and Emerald containing peer-reviewed journal articles, recently-published books and well-circulated newspapers. Please visit our UBD Library website.

Language Centre

The language centre offers a range of courses and language-related services to both students, staff, the broader community. The language courses include English, Malay, Borneo, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Filipino, Spanish and Thai. English language courses are offered to students who are already enrolled in the university whilst most Malay language courses are offered to nonnative speakers. Borneo languages taught by the Centre include Brunei Malau, Iban, Belait, Dusun, Tutong and Lun Bawang.

In addition to the important work of teaching languages, the Centre also provides a range of services including translation, editing, proofreading, language consultancy with government departments and with industry, television and radio voice overs, professional communication skills training, and assistance with English which supports international post-graduate students with their English language and academic skills.

The Centre is also actively involved in language-related projects including the teaching and preservation of indigenous languages, a folklore project with the Brunei Language and Literature Bureau (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei) to preserve local stories and make them available for future generations, the mapping all language courses to the Common European Framework and an APA academic referencing style manual for UBD students and staff. Find out more about Language Centre.

Safety, Health and Environment

The Office of Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE) has been established in line with Brunei Darussalam’s legal requirement, Workplace Safety and Health Order 2009, in ensuring all workplaces including educational institution are safe for its staff members, students, visitors as well as contractors.

The Office is largely responsible to oversee all issues related to safety, health and environment for both on and off campus events and any other UBD-related activities. The function of the Office include to develop and review safety, health and environment policy, advise on development of services and workplace-specific policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs), provide guidance in support of implementation of safety, health and environment policy, develop and implement strategies and programmes to promote occupational safety and health to meet legal requirements, develop and provide training on safety and health procedures, collaborate with other organisations regarding occupational safety, health and environment issues, and provide occupational safety and health information and advisory service.

In UBD, tutorials are conducted at least an hour long for each two-hour module taken by undergraduate students. The facilitator for the tutorials are experts in the field of study. Thus, students are expected to come to lectures prepared with their own research using materials from lectures as point of departures, and also their own queries that is related to the lectured modules.

It is during tutorial times when students are able to exchange more ideas, discuss various dimensions of the common core concepts from lectures, and enrich their knowledge on the module through the use of focus groups, tests and quizzes, and class debates which are essential activities for learning that may not be able to be included during lecture times.