The genesis of the University of Macau dates back to March 1981 when its predecessor, the University of East Asia (UEA), was founded by Ricci Island West Limited. Privately owned and the first university in Macao, UEA was established with the assistance of the Government of Macao by a lease of land on Taipa Island, signifying the beginning of modern tertiary education in Macao.
During the first few years after establishment, UEA mainly enrolled students from Hong Kong. To meet the demand for local human resources during the transition period of Macao before its handover to China, the then Macao-Portuguese Government entrusted the purchase of the University to the Macao Foundation in 1988. Subsequent restructuring led to the establishment of the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Business Administration, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Technology and to the change of the duration of programmes from three-year to four-year. The Faculties of Law and Education were established afterwards and English remained the main teaching medium.
Twenty five years of steady development enable the University of Macau to boast an integrated teaching system organised through five faculties, namely, the Faculty of Business Administration, the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, and the Faculty of Science and Technology. These faculties offer Doctoral, Master's, Bachelor's and Bacharelato (Higher Diploma) degree programmes. English remains the prevailing language in teaching while Chinese, Portuguese and Japanese are used for specialised programmes. Other academic units in the University include the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, the English Language Centre, the Centre for Continuing Education, the Centre for Pre-University Studies, and the Centre for Macau Studies.
The University has more than 360 faculty members, from countries all over the world and including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Japan, the Mainland of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. The teaching faculty have rich teaching experience and strong expertise, and some hold PhD degrees awarded by world-famous universities.
As the largest and leading university in the Macao SAR, the University of Macau defines as its mission as providing quality higher education in Macao. To fulfill future needs that may arise with the development of territory, the University is carrying out its expansion plan by building new academic buildings, laboratories, offices, research centres, and student activity centres. In curriculum development, the University will be offering more programmes to respond to the needs of Macao society.
After celebration of its Silver Jubilee in 2006, the University of Macau will maintain the goal of striving for excellence in teaching and research. While readying students and faculty to meet challenges of the new era, the University will redouble its efforts to assert itself as an academic institution of international standing.
