The Faculty of Science was established in 1916, as a part of the Faculty of Arts and Science to provide prerequisite basic science courses for medical and engineering students.
The Faculty of Arts and Science grew rapidly. One of the great benefactors was His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla, a son of King Chulalongkorn and the present King's father. who set up scholarships to enable university lecturers in science and medicine to further their studies abroad. Foreign aid in structural organization and teaching activities was subsequently introduced to raise the standard of Thai education. Prince Mahidol of Songkla played a key role in the negotiation with the Rockefeller Foundation which generously contributed to the development of the Faculty of Science in a joint effort with the Ministry of Education.
Bachelor of Science Degrees were first conferred in 1935. Eight years later, the Faculty of Science was established as an independent faculty with 4 service departments: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics.
Today, the Faculty has 14 departments offering both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The additional departments that followed include: Biochemistry, Botany, General Science, Geology, Marine Science, Microbiology; and the other 4 technology-base departments, Chemical Technology, Food Technology, Materials Science and Photographic Science & Printing Technology. Many post-graduate programs in new specializations, such as Biotechnology, Environmental Science and Petrochemistry and Polymer Science, have resulted from multidisciplinary collaborations among various departments. Extramural lectures of prerequisite courses to students from other faculties such as Engineering, Education, Arts and Medical Science are also taught by the Faculty's members.
Since the establishment of the Faculty in 1943, over 10,000 students have graduated with Bachelor degrees. At present, the number of undergraduate and post-graduate students is more than 2,000 and 800 respectively, and represents the third largest faculty of the university. The Faculty of Science has almost 400 academic staff supported by over 300 administrative staff and technicians. It serves as a center for academic and intellectual pursuits and provides professional services in the form of research consultation, workshops, seminars, national and international conferences, technology transfer and development.
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