Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

About Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia, or UPTM, is a private university in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, owned and operated by Kolej Poly-Tech MARA Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of MARA Corporation Sdn Bhd (MARA Corp), itself the corporate arm of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA). MARA is the federal statutory body established under the Rural Development and National Unity Ministry portfolio to advance Bumiputera socioeconomic participation, and UPTM sits as its flagship higher education vehicle alongside the wider Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (KPTM) college network.

The Cheras campus serves as both the UPTM headquarters and its principal teaching site, located at Jalan 6/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, 56100 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. The institution offers programmes at Diploma, Bachelor (Honours), Master, and PhD levels, with faculty coverage spanning accountancy, business administration, human resource management, information technology, information security, communication, and Islamic banking and finance. All UPTM programmes are accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), and the accountancy stream additionally carries professional body recognition from ACCA, MICPA, and MAICSA.

UPTM occupies a specific positioning in the Klang Valley private university market: a MARA-owned, Bumiputera-mandate institution with a focused business and technology faculty footprint, pricing in the RM 7,000-14,000 per year band, and an established pipeline into MARA scholarship and loan financing for eligible students. The institution is not a comprehensive multi-faculty research university in the mould of UTAR or Multimedia University, nor a niche specialist institution in the mould of INCEIF or Asia School of Business. It is a targeted teaching-led private university with a clear vocational orientation in accounting, business, and IT.

Student enrolment at UPTM is drawn substantially from MARA’s traditional catchment of Bumiputera students from peninsular and East Malaysian states, with non-Bumiputera and international students filling out the cohort. The KPTM-UPTM combined network reports more than 18,000 full-time students across its seven campuses, making it among the largest Bumiputera private higher education networks in Malaysia by student volume.

Location and Campus of Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

The UPTM campus is at Jalan 6/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, 56100 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, on the Jalan Cheras corridor approximately 9 km southeast of KLCC. The campus is one of the better-served Klang Valley private universities for public transport: the MRT Maluri station on the Putrajaya Line and the LRT Maluri station on the Ampang Line are both within walking distance, providing direct access to the Klang Valley rail network without the car-dependency that constrains some peripheral campuses.

The Cheras location places UPTM within the Taman Shamelin Perkasa-Maluri-Pandan Indah commercial belt, an established student-rental district with affordable accommodation, food outlets, retail, and basic services. This urban setting differentiates UPTM from suburban-greenfield campuses such as UTAR Kampar or INTI Nilai, and instead aligns UPTM with metropolitan-vertical campuses such as HELP University Damansara or UCSI Cheras. The trade-off is well understood: less green space and on-campus residential capacity, but materially better commute economics for working students and lower-cost off-campus rental options.

The campus accommodates the academic faculty buildings, central administration, library, computer laboratories, ACCA-aligned accountancy training facilities, and student amenities. UPTM does not operate a large central hostel block, and most students arrange off-campus accommodation in the Maluri and Cheras vicinity, with rental rates substantially below the central KL average due to the suburban-Cheras price gradient.

For prospective students, the location calculation is straightforward: UPTM at Cheras is among the more accessible Klang Valley private universities for KL-resident commuters and for students relocating from outside the Klang Valley who prefer affordable urban accommodation over a self-contained suburban campus. The MRT and LRT access in particular makes UPTM viable for students from Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Kajang, and Ampang without requiring car ownership.

KUPTM-to-UPTM History at Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

The institutional lineage of Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia runs through four named phases under continuous MARA ownership.

The institutional origin traces to Yayasan Pelajaran MARA (YPM), MARA’s education foundation, which operated MARA Community Colleges from January 1983 with the establishment of the Learning Resource Centre in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, followed by Maktab Sains MARA in Kuantan, Pahang in June 1983. The Kuala Lumpur teaching site was added in 1987, Bangi in 1988, and Kota Bharu in 1994. These were the predecessor MARA-aligned colleges that would eventually consolidate under the Kolej Poly-Tech MARA brand.

On 1 September 2003, MARA restructured the YPM college network by transferring administration and management to Kolej Poly-Tech MARA Sdn Bhd, a newly incorporated MARA subsidiary. This vehicle was registered under the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555) and became the legal operator of all MARA’s private college operations. The Kuala Lumpur campus, originally Kolej Yayasan Pelajaran MARA (KYPM), was rebranded under the Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (KPTM) banner.

On 15 October 2015, the Ministry of Higher Education granted university-college status to Kolej Poly-Tech MARA Kuala Lumpur, which was renamed Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA (KUPTM). University-college status under the Malaysian higher education classification permits an institution to award its own degree-level qualifications and conduct postgraduate teaching, distinct from the diploma-led college status it held previously.

KUPTM submitted its application for full university upgrade to the Ministry of Higher Education on 1 December 2020. The Ministry granted approval in principle on 31 March 2021, and the formal upgrade was conferred on 23 February 2022, when the institution became Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM). The KUPTM-to-UPTM rename signalled the maturity transition from a single-purpose university-college to a full university entitled to operate at the same regulatory tier as established peers such as UNITAR International University and UNIRAZAK.

The UPTM upgrade is administratively distinct from the wider Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (KPTM) network. The other six KPTM campuses in Kota Bharu, Bangi, Kuantan, Ipoh, Alor Setar, and Batu Pahat continue to operate at college status under Kolej Poly-Tech MARA Sdn Bhd, providing diploma-led teaching that feeds the UPTM degree pipeline. Students typically progress from a KPTM diploma in one of the regional campuses to a UPTM bachelor degree in Cheras, with internal articulation pathways and credit transfer agreements smoothing the progression.

Programmes at Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

UPTM organises its academic offerings around four broad disciplinary clusters: business and accountancy, information technology and security, communication, and human resources. The faculty footprint is intentionally focused rather than comprehensive, reflecting the institution’s vocational orientation and its position as a teaching-led private university rather than a research-led comprehensive institution.

The business and accountancy cluster is the largest and most visible at UPTM. Programmes include the Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons), the Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) Human Resource Management, the Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) Marketing, and the Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) Islamic Banking and Finance. The Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) is the institution’s flagship programme by both national reputation and graduate employment outcome, supported by ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Partner status, MICPA recognition, and MAICSA recognition. Graduates obtain substantial paper exemptions toward ACCA, MICPA, and MAICSA chartered qualifications, materially shortening the post-degree pathway to professional accountant status.

The information technology and security cluster runs the Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons), the Bachelor of Information Security (Hons), and Diploma in Information Technology programmes. The Information Security programme is one of the more distinctive UPTM offerings: while many private universities run general IT or computer science degrees, the dedicated Information Security pathway aligns with national cybersecurity workforce demand and CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) priorities.

The communication cluster delivers the Bachelor of Communication (Hons) with specialisations in broadcasting, journalism, and corporate communication. The programme draws on the legacy KPTM mass communication strength and prepares graduates for roles in media production, public relations, and corporate communications.

The human resources cluster is anchored by the Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) Human Resource Management, with curriculum coverage spanning recruitment and selection, occupational safety and health, training and development, compensation, performance management, employment law, industrial relations, and human resource information systems.

At Diploma level, UPTM runs feeder programmes in accounting, business, IT, multimedia, and office management, providing sub-degree entry for SPM holders and a structured progression pathway into the corresponding bachelor degrees.

At postgraduate level, UPTM runs Master and PhD programmes in business and accountancy. The Master of Accountancy is delivered in collaboration with the AICPA & CIMA professional bodies, providing graduates with both an MQA-accredited Master qualification and structured progression toward CGMA professional designation.

The KPTM-UPTM articulation framework is a structural feature of the network. Students who complete a KPTM Diploma at one of the regional campuses (Kota Bharu, Bangi, Kuantan, Ipoh, Alor Setar, Batu Pahat) can articulate into the corresponding UPTM bachelor programme at Cheras, with credit transfer reducing the bachelor degree duration to two years from the standard three-and-a-half years.

Fees at Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

UPTM tuition fees sit in the RM 7,000 to RM 14,000 per year band for Malaysian students, with diploma programmes at the lower end and honours bachelor degrees at the upper end of the range.

Programme Level	Annual Fee (RM)	Programme Total (RM)
Diploma (3 years)	~7,000	~21,000
Bachelor (Hons) Accountancy (3.5-4 years)	~12,000-14,000	~42,000-56,000
Bachelor (Hons) Business Administration	~10,000-12,000	~30,000-36,000
Bachelor (Hons) Information Technology	~10,000-12,000	~30,000-36,000
Bachelor (Hons) Information Security	~10,000-13,000	~30,000-39,000
Bachelor (Hons) Communication	~10,000-12,000	~30,000-36,000
Master programmes	quoted on request	quoted on request

The Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) sits at the top of the UPTM fee schedule, reflecting its longer duration (3.5-4 years for the full ACCA-aligned curriculum), the resource intensity of the chartered accountancy syllabus, and the platinum-tier ACCA learning partner overhead. Total programme cost of approximately RM 42,000-56,000 for the accountancy honours degree compares favourably to comparable accountancy degrees at metropolitan private universities, where total programme cost typically runs RM 60,000-90,000.

The bachelor business administration, information technology, communication, and information security programmes cluster around RM 10,000-12,000 per year, totalling roughly RM 30,000-36,000 for the standard three-year duration. This pricing band positions UPTM among the more affordable Klang Valley private universities for business and IT undergraduate study, undercutting both the established mid-tier private universities such as UTAR (RM 11,000-25,000/yr depending on programme) and the metropolitan high-tier private universities such as Sunway University and Taylor’s University (RM 25,000-45,000/yr).

Diploma programmes at approximately RM 7,000 per year, totalling RM 21,000 for the three-year duration, are positioned at the budget end of Klang Valley private institution pricing and serve as the principal entry point for Bumiputera students utilising MARA loan financing.

All published fees are quoted for Malaysian students. International student fees run on separate schedules and should be requested from marketing@uptm.edu.my. Hostel accommodation is not bundled at UPTM, and students should budget separately for off-campus rental in the Maluri and Cheras vicinity, which typically runs RM 400-700 per month for a shared room.

Accreditation at Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

UPTM holds full institutional registration with the Ministry of Higher Education as a private university, with all programmes accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and listed on the Malaysian Qualifications Register (MQR). The institutional registration entry on MQA records the institution under both its current name (Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia) and its previous name (Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA Kuala Lumpur), with continuous registration across the 2015 university-college upgrade and the 2022 full university upgrade.

The accountancy programme accreditation profile is the most extensive at UPTM. The Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) is accredited by:

• The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), with UPTM holding ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Partner status, the highest tier of ACCA tuition partnership recognition. Graduates receive substantial paper exemptions toward the ACCA Qualification.
• The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), providing exemption pathways toward the MICPA-CAANZ Programme.
• The Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (MAICSA), providing exemption pathways toward chartered secretary qualifications.
• The Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) for graduate registration as a chartered accountant of Malaysia upon completion of the post-degree training requirement.

The Master of Accountancy programme is delivered in collaboration with the AICPA & CIMA (the global professional body formed by the merger of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), providing structured progression toward the CGMA (Chartered Global Management Accountant) professional designation alongside the MQA-accredited Master degree.

The information technology and information security programmes are MQA-accredited and align with CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) workforce frameworks, although UPTM does not currently hold standalone professional accreditation comparable to the accountancy stream.

The business and human resource management programmes are MQA-accredited at the bachelor level. Specific Master and PhD programmes carry their own MQA codes and are listed on the Malaysian Qualifications Register under the UPTM institutional entry.

Admissions at Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

UPTM operates intake calendars at multiple points throughout the academic year, with March and September being the principal entry semesters for most programmes.

Entry to Diploma programmes requires SPM with credit passes in the relevant subjects (typically 3 credits including Mathematics for IT and business diplomas, with English credit a common additional requirement). The Diploma intake is the principal entry pathway for Bumiputera students utilising MARA loan financing.

Entry to Bachelor (Hons) programmes requires one of the following: STPM with the relevant subject grades; A-Level passes in the relevant subjects; Matriculation completion at the required CGPA; a relevant Diploma at minimum CGPA 2.50 (with credit transfer to reduce bachelor duration); or a UPTM Foundation completion. Subject prerequisites vary by faculty: the Bachelor of Accountancy requires strong Mathematics and Accounting passes, the Bachelor of Information Technology requires Mathematics, and the Bachelor of Communication is more flexible on subject prerequisites.

Entry to Master programmes requires a relevant bachelor degree at the minimum CGPA specified by the programme, typically 2.75 to 3.00 depending on the programme, with research-mode applicants additionally required to identify a supervisor and submit a research proposal.

Entry to PhD programmes requires a relevant Master degree, supervisor identification, and a research proposal. Postgraduate applications run year-round rather than on a fixed semester intake.

Application contact: marketing@uptm.edu.my, with switchboard lines on +603 9206 9700 (general) and +603 9283 7186 (marketing and admissions). The university website is uptm.edu.my.

International applicants should factor in additional lead time for the Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) student visa pass, which runs on its own processing window and is administered separately from UPTM’s internal admissions decision. UPTM’s international office at the Cheras campus assists with EMGS documentation and visa processing.

MARA Heritage and Bumiputera Mandate at Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

The MARA mandate is the defining institutional context for Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia. Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Council of Trust for the People) was established in 1966 as a federal statutory body under the Rural Development and National Unity Ministry portfolio, with a constitutional mandate to advance Bumiputera socioeconomic participation in commerce, industry, and education. Higher education has been a consistent strand of MARA’s portfolio since the 1970s, with MARA operating its own boarding schools (Maktab Rendah Sains MARA), polytechnic colleges, and tertiary scholarship pipelines for several decades.

UPTM is the apex private university vehicle within MARA’s higher education stack. Below it sit the Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (KPTM) college network at Kota Bharu, Bangi, Kuantan, Ipoh, Alor Setar, and Batu Pahat, the Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) boarding school network for secondary education, and the MARA Junior Science College pre-university feeders. The integrated MARA education stack provides a structured progression from secondary school through tertiary diploma to UPTM bachelor and postgraduate qualifications, all under common Bumiputera-mandate financing.

The MARA Tertiary Education Sponsorship Programme (TESP) is the principal financing instrument for UPTM Bumiputera students. The TESP is a loan instrument restricted to full-time Bumiputera students pursuing first-degree programmes at selected institutions, with UPTM naturally within the eligible institution list. MARA loans carry favourable terms compared to PTPTN: a one-year post-graduation grace period, zero interest for the first five years of repayment, and convertible-to-scholarship provisions for top-performing graduates. For Bumiputera students entering UPTM, the MARA loan typically covers tuition and provides a living allowance, removing the financial barrier to private university participation.

The Bumiputera mandate is most visible at UPTM in the financing and scholarship pathways rather than in admissions policy. Non-Bumiputera applicants are eligible for the same MQA-accredited programmes, the same fee schedules, and federal funding pathways such as PTPTN. UPTM’s student body, while predominantly Bumiputera, includes Chinese, Indian, and international students across all programmes. The non-discriminatory admissions policy is consistent with the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 framework that governs all private university operations in Malaysia.

The institutional implication for the broader private higher education market is that UPTM occupies a structural market niche that UTAR, HELP University, and Asia Pacific University cannot match: integrated MARA financing for the majority Bumiputera student segment, combined with MQA-accredited business and IT degrees at affordable price points. This positioning has enabled UPTM and the wider KPTM-UPTM network to grow to more than 18,000 full-time students across seven campuses, among the largest Bumiputera private higher education networks in Malaysia.

How Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM) Compares to UNITAR, UTAR, and UNIRAZAK

UPTM sits in a Klang Valley private university comparison set anchored by UNITAR International University, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), and Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNIRAZAK). Each of these institutions has a distinct ownership profile, faculty footprint, and pricing position, and prospective students typically evaluate the four together when filtering by location, fees, and Bumiputera-mandate financing eligibility.

Ownership and mandate. UPTM is owned by MARA (Bumiputera-mandate federal statutory body). UNITAR is owned by Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (EKUINAS, a Bumiputera-mandate government-linked private equity fund). UNIRAZAK was founded in 1997 under MARA via Yayasan Pelajaran MARA, retaining historical MARA linkage. UTAR is owned by the UTAR Education Foundation, established by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) in 2002 as a non-profit private university with a multi-ethnic mandate. The Bumiputera-mandate financing pipeline is therefore strongest at UPTM (direct MARA), substantial at UNITAR (EKUINAS), historically present at UNIRAZAK (post-MARA divestiture varies), and not applicable at UTAR.

Faculty footprint. UTAR is the broadest of the four, running engineering, science, medicine, ICT, business, arts, and humanities across two campuses (Kampar and Sungai Long) with more than 25,000 students. UPTM, UNITAR, and UNIRAZAK are all narrower-faculty institutions concentrated in business, accountancy, IT, and selected applied disciplines. UNITAR runs a substantial online and blended-learning portfolio in addition to face-to-face teaching. UNIRAZAK runs a small specialist research-focused profile with strength in graduate business education. UPTM runs a focused face-to-face teaching profile with strength in accountancy and IT.

Pricing. UPTM at RM 7,000-14,000/yr is the lowest of the four. UNIRAZAK at RM 9,500-15,000/yr is broadly comparable. UNITAR’s online-flexible model runs RM 8,000-15,000/yr depending on delivery mode. UTAR at RM 11,000-25,000/yr is the most expensive, reflecting the broader faculty footprint including engineering and medicine.

Geography. UPTM (Cheras), UNITAR (Petaling Jaya), and UNIRAZAK (Petaling Jaya, Capital Square) are all metropolitan Klang Valley campuses. UTAR is split between Kampar (rural Perak greenfield) and Sungai Long (Selangor metropolitan), with the Kampar campus serving the largest student cohort.

Accountancy positioning. UPTM holds ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Partner status, making it competitive at the top tier of ACCA tuition recognition alongside Sunway University and HELP University. UTAR holds ACCA Approved Learning Partner status. UNITAR and UNIRAZAK run their own accountancy programmes but at different professional accreditation tiers.

For prospective Bumiputera students with MARA loan eligibility, UPTM is typically the strongest financial fit due to direct MARA institutional alignment. For non-Bumiputera students, UPTM remains competitive on price but loses the financing differential, and the choice between UPTM, UTAR, UNITAR, and UNIRAZAK turns more on programme specifics, campus preference, and institutional reputation in the target professional sector.

Contact Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM)

Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia operates from a single Cheras campus in Kuala Lumpur and accepts applications throughout the academic year for its Diploma, Bachelor, Master, and PhD programmes.

• Address: Jalan 6/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, 56100 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• General Line: +603 9206 9700
• Marketing and Admissions: +603 9283 7186
• Fax: +603 9281 0475
• General Enquiry: enquiry@uptm.edu.my
• Admissions Enquiry: marketing@uptm.edu.my
• Website: uptm.edu.my

For the wider Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (KPTM) network of regional campuses (Kota Bharu, Bangi, Kuantan, Ipoh, Alor Setar, Batu Pahat), prospective students should consult kptm.edu.my, which serves as the central enrolment portal for the KPTM diploma-level offerings that articulate into UPTM bachelor degrees.

In summary: Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM) is a private university in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, owned by Kolej Poly-Tech MARA Sdn Bhd under Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), upgraded from KUPTM to full university status on 23 February 2022. Annual fees run RM 7,000-14,000 across Diploma, Bachelor (Hons), and Master programmes in accountancy, business administration, information technology, information security, communication, and human resource management. The Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) carries ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Partner status alongside MICPA and MAICSA recognition. UPTM serves as the apex private university within MARA’s integrated Bumiputera-mandate higher education stack, with the wider KPTM college network providing diploma-level feeder pathways across six additional campuses.