Alfa University College was launched as Alif Creative Academy in 1998 in Petaling Jaya, just outside Kuala Lumpur. It then became ALFA International College when it moved to the capital in 2009, then attained full university status in 2021.
Located in a tower block in Subang Jaya, a district noted for its concentration of universities, three miles outside Kuala Lumpur’s central business district, AUC is a private institution but its vice-chancellor is appointed by Malaysia’s Minister of Higher Education. It was taken over by the Nusantara Education Group in 2017.
It remains a boutique institution, with its student roll spread across five schools – social sciences and humanities, creative arts, economics, management and accounting, information science and technology, and science and engineering.
Focussed strongly on industry practice and hands-on elements, its provision ranges from three levels of Malaysia’s Skill Certificate, through diploma courses billed as "a pathway that assures industry-based needs" to nine degree courses, 12 masters options and nine doctorates.
Sixty per cent of students are international, reckoned to come from 95 different countries, with the ALFA-China programme in Guangzhou providing a pathway for Chinese entrants.
In addition the Professional International Language Centre offers 3,000 students from across the world a one-year programme which acts as a gateway to Malaysian higher education.
