The University of Malaya is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and most esteemed university in Malaysia. The university's name was abbreviated as Malaya during the pre-independence period.

University of Malaya has its roots in Singapore with the establishment of King Edward VII College of Medicine on 28 September 1905. University Malaya was established on 1949 October in Singapore with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine and Raffles College (founded 1929). The growth of the University was very rapid during the first decade of its foundation and this resulted in the setting up of two autonomous Divisions on 15 January 1959, one located in Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur. In 1960, the government of the two indicated that the two divisions of the University of Malaya should become autonomous separate national universities, one located in Singapore (later becoming the National University of Singapore) and the other in Kuala Lumpur (retaining the name University of Malaya). Legislation was passed in 1961 and the University of Malaya was established on 1 January 1962.

Today, it has more than 2,500 faculty members. In 2012, UM was granted autonomy status by the Ministry of Higher Education. Presently, the University is divided into 12 faculties, 2 academies and 3 Centers, namely: Faculty of Law, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Built Environment, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Faculty of Business and Accountancy, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Academy of Malay Studies, Academy of Islamic Studies, Cultural Centre, Sports Centre and Centre for Foundation Studies (University of Malaya).

In 2020, the QS World University Rankings has ranked UM at the 70th place in the world, 19th place in Asia, 3rd in Southeast Asia and the top ranked learning institution in Malaysia.