History

The establishment of the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication (FBMK) can be traced back to the formation of the National Language Division and the English Language Division at the College of Agriculture Malaya, following the enforcement of the Language Act 1967. In 1971, these two divisions were merged and became known as the Language Division, comprising both the National Language and English. In 1972, the division was upgraded to the Department of Language and placed under the Faculty of Agriculture.

On 15 January 1975, the Department of Language was transferred to the Faculty of Educational Studies. Later, on 4 January 1995, it was upgraded to become the Faculty of Modern Language Studies. On 1 January 1999, the Department of Development Communication from the Faculty of Human Ecology was transferred to the Faculty of Modern Language Studies and renamed as the Department of Communication. With this transfer, the Faculty was renamed to the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication (FBMK).

The Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication (FBMK), Universiti Putra Malaysia, comprises four main departments: the Department of Malay Language, the Department of English Language, the Department of Foreign Languages, and the Department of Communication. FBMK offers two main undergraduate programmes: the Bachelor of Arts with Honours and the Bachelor of Communication with Honours (B.Comm).

The Bachelor of Arts programme covers eight fields of study:

• Malay Language and Linguistics

• Malay Literature

• English Language and Linguistics

• English Literature

• Chinese Language Studies

• German Language Studies

• French Language Studies

• Arabic Language
  
  

Meanwhile, the Bachelor of Communication with Honours programme offers four areas of specialisation:

• Corporate Communication

• Human Communication

• Journalism

• Broadcasting
  
  

FBMK also offers a full-time Bachelor Trimester Programme, which is a rebranding of the executive programme that FBMK has run since 1998. Starting in November 2024, this programme has been expanded to include international students to meet global market demands. In addition, FBMK collaborates with UPM Education & Training Sdn. Bhd. to implement academic programmes via Open and Distance Learning (ODL). Beginning March 2025, FBMK officially launched the UPM Bridging Programme, specially designed for international students, particularly from China, to provide a strong foundation in academic and language skills before continuing to the bachelor's level at FBMK UPM.

For postgraduate programmes, FBMK through the School of Graduate Studies offers advanced degree programmes including the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Master of Arts (MA), and Master of Science (MSc) by Research, as well as Masters by Coursework.

The Ph.D. programmes offered include:

• Malay Language

• Malay Literature

• English Language and Literature

• Arabic Language

• Japanese Language

• Chinese Literature

• Human Communication

• Mass Communication

• Corporate Communication

• Comparative and Applied Linguistics

• Literacy Studies

• Translation and Interpretation

• Discourse Studies

• Literary and Cultural Studies
  
  

The MA and MSc programmes offered by Research include:

• Malay Language

• Malay Literature

• English Language

• English Literature

• Arabic Language

• Japanese Language

• Chinese Literature

• Communication Technology

• Journalism

• Human Communication

• Development Communication

• Organisational Communication

• Comparative and Applied Linguistics

• Literacy Studies

• Translation and Interpretation

• Discourse Studies

• Literary and Cultural Studies
  
  

The Master's programmes offered by Coursework include:

• Malay Language

• Malay Literature

• Applied Linguistics

• World Literature

• Corporate Communication

Updated:: 07/07/2025 [amisya]