Mahamakut Buddhist University or MBU (Thai: มหาวิทยาลัยมหามกุฏราชวิทยาลัย) is one of the two public Buddhist universities in Thailand. Founded in 1893 as an educational institute for monks, by King Chulalongkorn in remembrance of his late father King Mongkut. The Thai government granted the university a status of public university in 1997, integrating MBU into the Thai higher education system. Mahamakut Buddhist University is composed of four academic faculties: Religion and Philosophy Faculty, Humanities Faculty, Social Sciences Faculty, and Education Faculty. In addition, the university also offer a teachers' training program as well as various academic services to the public. The university began offering master's degree programs in 1987. The Ph.D. program of Buddhist Studies was established in 2005.