Mae Fah Luang University, situated in the province of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, is named after Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother (Somdet Yah), the beloved mother of the current king of Thailand. Mae Fah Luang was the name given to her by the local people in Chiang Rai. It is an autonomous public university, established on September 25th, 1998. Initially it offered only two majors, (English being one of them). It now offers more, such as: Biotechnology, Cosmetic Science, Engineering, Aviation Business Management, and Agro-Industry. Now that the University Hospital is completed, the School of Medicine should also be available soon. The beautiful and large campus is situated in Tambon Tasood, Mueang District and consists mainly of hills with only a small area of plain. Construction took many years, as the campus was mostly built on hillsides. Work was completed in 2004. The university strives to be an international institution, using English as the primary medium of instruction. However, this is slightly hindered by the inadequate language skills of a few members of the Thai teaching staff, but the university also has a large number of native English-speaking teachers.