page_title: Thammasat University
section_title: Tha Phra Chan
hierarchical_section_title: Thammasat University / Campuses / Tha Phra Chan
caption_attribution_description: English: Thammasat University pond view 2
context_page_description: Thammasat University is a public research university in Thailand with campuses in Tha Phra Chan area of Phra Nakhon District near the Grand Palace in the heart of Bangkok; in Rangsit, 42 kilometers north of Bangkok; in Pattaya, a resort city on the eastern seaboard of Thailand; and in Lampang Province.
  As of 2019, Thammasat University has over 33,000 students enrolled in 33 faculties, colleges, and institutes and 2,700 academic staff.
  Thammasat is Thailand's second oldest university. Officially established to be the national university of Thailand on 27 June 1934, it was named by its founder, Pridi Banomyong, the University of Moral and Political Sciences. It began as an open university, with 7,094 students studying law and politics in its first year. In 1952, the university's name was shortened to its present one by the military junta of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram. who became the first rector of the university.
  In 1960, the university ended its free-entry policy and became the first in Thailand to require passing national entrance examinations for admission. Thammasat today offers more than 240 academic programs in 33 different faculties and colleges on four campuses.
context_section_description: Tha Phra Chan Centre (Thai: ศูนย์ท่าพระจันทร์) is in Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, surrounded by many of Thailand's most famous cultural and historical landmarks, such as Sanam Luang, the Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Bangkok National Museum, the National Theatre, Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit, and the Chao Phraya River. It was the first permanent campus of Thammasat, purchased from the military with public donations in 1935. The site had originally been part of the Front Palace of the deputy king (formerly the designated heir to the throne).
  The signature building of the university is the Dome, the original Tha Phra Chan campus building. It was constructed from four existing military buildings. The Dome housed Pridi Banomyong's office as well as being the command centre of the Free Thai Movement during the Second World War. Late in the war, when an uprising against the occupying Japanese was planned, weapons were concealed in the attic.
  The Tha Phra Chan campus played a role in the uprising against the military regime on 14 October 1973 and was the site of the 6 October 1976 Massacre.
  Eight faculties are based at the Tha Phra Chan campus: law, political science, economics, commerce and accountancy, liberal arts, social administration, journalism and mass communication, and sociology and anthropology. As of 2019, only postgraduate programmes, integrated bachelor's and master's programmes, and the English-language international programmes are offered at Tha Phra Chan (except those in engineering, health sciences, and journalism which are at the Rangsit Center). Thammasat Tha Phra Chan offers a Thai Language courses for foreigners. Tha Phra Chan facilities include a football field, a track, a gymnasium, eight libraries, and several cafeterias.
caption: Dome Administration Building, Rangsit
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