Institution Profile

About Us

Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (‘TAR UC’) is a premier tertiary education institution with over 5 decades of excellence in providing quality and affordable education. Established as Tunku Abdul Rahman College (‘TAR College’) in 1969, the institution has grown from strength to strength offering close to 200 programmes of study ranging from pre-university, Diploma, Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels.

Today, TAR UC has a student population of more than 28,000 spread over 6 campuses nationwide, in Kuala Lumpur (Main Campus), Penang, Perak, Johor, Pahang and Sabah. Since opening its doors, TAR UC has witnessed its alumni body to grow to over 210,000 with many of them becoming industry leaders, successful entrepreneurs and outstanding professionals in their own right.

Academic Strength

Our long history in higher education has allowed TAR UC to forge very close relationships with many professional bodies and industry leaders both locally and globally resulting in professionally driven programmes that are well recognised and accredited by many international and local professional bodies.

This benefits students in many ways, such as a smooth process in obtaining their professional certification, giving them an edge while they focus on building their future careers. Most notably, TAR UC has been granted the coveted ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Partner status and the only institution in the world to run the Internally Assessed ACCA Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills level examinations.

TAR UC is also accredited by many other reputable professional bodies such as CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), CGI (Chartered Governance Institute, formerly known as ICSA), ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales), CPA Australia, FPAM (Financial Planning Association of Malaysia), FAA (Finance Accreditation Agency), MAICSA (The Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators), CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing), CILTM (The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport), BQSM (Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia), BOVAEP (Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Malaysia), LAM (Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia), amongst many others. On top of that, we offer opportunities for an international learning experience and exposure via our Dual Award programme conducted with our overseas partner university, Coventry University, UK and International Management Institute, Switzerland, whereby students can graduate with two Bachelor’s degrees and enhance their employment opportunities. TAR UC also encourages an entrepreneurship mindset via its Centre for Business Incubation and Entrepreneurial Ventures ('CBIEV'), where students with an entrepreneurial inclination are given all the support they need to develop their entrepreneurial ideas!

Our faculties are well equipped with all the latest state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, so that our students will be equipped with industry relevant knowledge that meets all the stringent requirements set by the industries upon graduation from their respective fields. Students are also placed in internships with prominent companies, which will expose them to real-world industry practices. TAR UC was also twice bestowed the Premier Digital Tech University status from Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), which signifies that TAR UC is one of the top institutions that delivers first-class theoretical and practical training in digital technology.

Programme Outline

TAR UC offers about 200 programmes from Pre-U to Postgraduate levels including:

Pre-University Programmes

• Foundation
• Cambridge GCE A Level

Diploma and Bachelor Degree Programmes

Postgraduate Programmes

• Master of Arts (Psychology)
• Master of Engineering Science
• Master of Computer Science
• Master of Information Technology
• Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences
• Master of Architecture
• Master of Science in Built Environment
• Master of Science
• Master of Science (Life Science)
• Master of Science (Food Science)
• Master of Science in Sports Science
• Master of Business Administration
• Master of Investment Management
• Master of Corporate Governance
• Master of Accounting and Finance
• Master of Arts in Communication
• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology
• Doctor of Philosophy (Computer Science)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Information Technology)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematical Sciences)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Built Environment
• Doctor of Philosophy (Life Science)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Physical Science)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Sports Science)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Food Science)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Business

The Student Experience

TAR UC Kuala Lumpur Main Campus boasts a spacious campus measuring 186 acres with undulating lush greenery where students will be able to experience a real campus lifestyle. Students can also participate in a wide range of co-curricular activities available for them, such as sports, art of self-defence and cultural activities conducted by more than 100 clubs and societies. Besides that, we provide job placement services such as JOBSTARC, an online job placement portal which provides students and graduates the access to the potential employers for recruitment and internship opportunities. Career fairs are also conducted throughout the year, inviting potential employers from multinational companies and large corporations to recruit our students before they even graduate. In line with our direction to become an entrepreneurial university, we have set up the TARC Incubator, which aims to promote and intensify innovation and entrepreneurship among the students, staff, alumni and the public with the support of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in TARC Incubator.

Recognition and Accreditation

TAR UC’s tradition of excellence is demonstrated clearly in the students’ achievements inter alia:-

• Ashley Lim Siew Fern was announced as Global Champion in the EY Young Tax Professional of the Year 2020 & Champion EY Young Tax Professional of the Year 2020 Malaysia.
• TAR UC student ranked 27th in the world for CIMA A-Star Programme, November 2019 examination.
• The first Malaysian to be top in the world in ACCA Strategic Business Leader December 2019.
• TAR UC student won ‘Best Across Three Cambridge International A Levels’ award (1st Place in Malaysia) and ‘Top in the World’ award for A Level Further Mathematics in the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards (Nov 2019 Exam Series).
• Best Booth Display in the PAM Annual Architecture Student Works Exhibition (PAASWE) 2019.
• Gold Award in The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2019.
• TAR UC students won “Most Innovative Team” award at the ICAEW Malaysia Business Challenge 2019.
• TAR UC Students won 1st Runner-up at the Deloitte SEA Tax Challenge 2019.
• TAR UC students emerged as Champion Team in the Intervarsity Corporate Strategy Challenge 2019.
• TAR UC students won the Champion in the Coding Track of the CIMB 3D Conquest 2019.
• Beh Kai Xin won the Best Presenter award in the 15th IEEE Colloquium on Signal Processing and its Applications (CSPA 2019).
• TAR UC students won the PAM Best Booth Display Award 2019.

TAR UC has garnered many institutional awards and recognition as shown below:

• Recognised as ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Partner – Student Tuition programme. This also puts TAR UC in the world’s top 5% of ACCA tuition providers.
• The only institution in the world to conduct the Internally Assessed ACCA Fundamentals (Skills Module) programme.
• Recognised as CIMA’s Global Learning Premium Partner.
• Selected amongst a few of the institutions in Malaysia as a Premier Digital Tech University by the Ministry of Higher Education and MDEC in 2017 and managed to retain the award in 2019.
• Recognised as the first and only institution of higher learning in Malaysia to be granted the Graduate Gateway status under the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) programme structure.
• The Government of Malaysia awarded MSC Malaysia Status for institutions of higher learning to TAR UC for having fulfilled the necessary set of criteria in meeting the objectives of the MSC Malaysia.
• TAR UC won the Excellence in Education Improvement award under the category of Socially Responsible Company in Education Improvement at the Asia Pacific CSR Awards 2016 on 23 September 2016.
• SETARA 5-Star Rating under the University Colleges category.
• Recognised as an Affiliated University under the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

TAR UC provides a variety of scholarships, bursaries and grants such as:

• Tunku Abdul Rahman University College Merit Scholarship
• Bursary for State/National Players
• TAR UC Sports Scholarship
• The Star Education Fund Scholarship
• Nanyang Tertiary Education Fund Scholarship
• Sin Chew Daily Education Fund Scholarship
• TAR UC – TAA Scholarship
• TAR UC – TAA (Top Glove) Scholarship
• TAR UC – JINBODHI Bursary

TAR UC assists students to obtain scholarships from sponsoring companies and philanthropic organisations such as:

• Bantuan Kewangan Pelajar OKU, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
• C Y Tan Foundation
• OSK Foundation Scholarship
• Kuok Foundation Study Grants
• Kuok Foundation Undergraduate Awards
• P. Ganendra Scholarship
• Ann Joo Undergraduate Scholarship
• Penang Future Foundation Scholarship
• SSP 1975 Scholarship
• Chan Kok Veng & Goh Joo Yi Scholarship
• MDC Scholarship
• Shimano Scholarship [Bachelor Degree Only]
• Inta Bina Scholarship [RQS Year 2 Only]
• Gadang Scholarship
• Malaysia Rubber Export Promotion Council Scholarship Awards for Undergraduate Studies
• Yayasan Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng Scholarship
• Daikin Malaysia Group Scholarship
• Loh & Loh Corporation Berhad Scholarship Programme
• CIMB Asean Scholarship
• Lion-Parkson Foundation Scholarship

There are also various types of loans available for students to apply such as:

• TAR UC Student Loan Fund
• Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN) Loan and many other loans.

Courses Offered

Click on a programme name for full details.