The Yangon University of Foreign Languages (also the University of Foreign Languages, Yangon) ( my, ရန်ကုန်နိုင်ငံခြားဘာသာတက္ကသိုလ် ), located in

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

, is a university for the study of foreign languages in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. Yangon University of Foreign Languages is one of the two language universities in Myanmar alongside Mandalay University of Foreign Languages.

History

Foreign Languages Institution (1964–1972)

The Foreign Languages Institution was originally the University of Foreign Languages, which was founded on 16 January 1964. U Ba Myint served as a Principal from 8 January 1964 to 7 February 1965. The Institute started with four language departments:

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Japanese and Russian. 53 students were initially enrolled in full-time

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

, part-time diploma, state scholars and language proficiency classes. In 1965, the Chinese Department was established and U Yu Khin became principal on 8 February 1965. The Institute was relocated to 119-131 University Avenue, Yangon, and U Yu Khin resigned on 30 April 1971, and was replaced by U Win Maung the following day. Italian language programs were offered from 1970 to 1980.

Institute of Foreign Languages (1972-1996)

The Institute was transferred direct control of Ministry of Education to Department of Higher Education on 15 March 1972. The Foreign Languages Institution was renamed the Institute of Foreign Languages, and U Win Maung resigned on 17 September 1972. Before the establishment of the language departments,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

courses were first offered in 1969 and

language courses were started in 1974 with the faculty members from

Yangon University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...

. More language departments were added over the years: the English department was established in 1984, Myanmar in 1985, Thai in 1989, and Korean in 1993.

Yangon University of Foreign Languages (1996–present)

The institute was given

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

accreditation and became the Yangon University of Foreign Languages on 2 October 1996.

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

programs were launched. The Italian Language Department was reestablished in the 2014–2015 academic year. The Departments of

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

Oriental Studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studi ...

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

, and International Studies were established in 1988.

Notable alumni

Sai Sai Kham Hlaing Sai Sai Kham Leng ( my, စိုင်းစိုင်းခမ်းလှိုင်; ; also Sai Sai Kham Hlaing; born 10 April 1979) is a Burmese singer-songwriter, model, novelist, and actor of ethnic Shan descent. He is considered one ...

Rebecca Win Rebecca Win ( my, ရေဗက္ကာဝင်း, ; born May Hnin Nu ( ) on 15 February 1986) is a retired Burmese singer and model. She performed in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2013 Southeast Asian Games in Naypyidaw. Rebecca Wi ...

* Phway Phway *

Myint Aye Myint Aye (born 1950) is a Burmese democracy activist. In 2002, he co-founded the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network in Burma. After several imprisonments on charges related to his activism, on 29 November 2008, he was given a life se ...

Wyne Lay Wyne Lay ( my, ဝိုင်းလေး; born Wint Yee Shunn on 3 August 1994) is a Burmese singer, songwriter, pianist, model and beauty pageant title holder. She was crowned the Miss World Myanmar 2014 and represented Myanmar at Miss World 2 ...

Ah Moon Ah Moon ( ; born Lung Sitt Ja Moon on 19 January 1991) is a singer from the Kachin State of Myanmar. She is a solo artist who was a member of the all-female pop music group the Me N Ma Girls, Burma's first all-girl pop band. Ah Moon's inclusio ...

Honey Nway Oo Honey Nway Oo ( my, ဟန်နီနွေဦး; born 19 March 1999) is a former Burmese actress and current officer in the Student Armed Force (SAF). Initially working in acting, she openly opposed the Tatmadaw following the 2021 Myanmar ...

References

{{authority control Universities and colleges in Yangon Arts and Science universities in Myanmar Universities and colleges in Myanmar Educational institutions established in 1964 1964 establishments in Burma Academic language institutions