Overview

Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah (USAS) is an institute of higher learning registered under the Private Higher Educational Institution Act 1996 (Act 555). Previously known as Kolej Universiti Islam Sultan Azlan Shah (KUISAS), it was upgraded to a full university status by the Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak on 10th of June 2016. The upgrading enables USAS to receive a full annual grant from the federal government. USAS offers a variety of courses from foundation studies level to PhD.

The history of USAS started with the establishment of Kolej Islam Darul Ridzuan (KISDAR), a brainchild of the late Sultan of the Perak State, Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah, the 34th Sultan of Perak. KISDAR began operation on a temporary campus, after its official inauguration by the late Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah on the 16th of February 1999 at Jalan Dato Seri Shaari off Jalan Raja Dihilir, Ipoh. KISDAR was established under the Perak State Government Bil. 3 year 2000. The enactment was tabled and passed by the State Legislative Council on the 6th of March 2002.

On the 8th of February 2006 the Perak state government approved the construction of a permanent campus on a piece of land donated by the then Raja Muda; Sultan Nazrin Shah, who later became the 35th Sultan of Perak. The campus is located at Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar the Royal Town of Perak. The new campus costing almost RM66 million was completed in 2008.

The 10th of June 2016 is a sacred date for USAS, when it was granted the full university’s status, and it was announced by the Malaysian

Prime Minister himself. Now known as Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah, it has become a landmark in the development of education in Perak.

The university, being located in a royal town shows its strong association with the State monarch. More so, when the university’s site was a gift from the Sultan, DYMM Paduka Seri Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah himself.

The decision to establish USAS in the historical royal town of Kuala Kangsar with its clean and beautiful surroundings that attracts local and foreign tourists a like, making the university’s position extremely strategic