Prince of Songkla University was the first university in Southern Thailand, established in 1967. The name of the university was granted by His Majesty the King in honor of His Royal Highness Somdej Chao Fa Mahidol Adulyadej Kromma Luang Songkla Nakarin, the king's father. The university consists of four campuses and one education service area. In 1968, the first permanent campus was established in Pattani. The campus in Hat Yai was opened in 1971 and is now the main campus, with more than 50% of the university's students. Other campuses were established in Phuket (1977) and Surat Thani (1990). Additionally, the Trang education service area was founded in 1991. As 2007, the university offers 295 educational programs to its 34,000 students, including 18 international programs and 3 foreign language programs. In 1962 the Department of Provincial Administration was assigned by the Thai government, through the Southern Development Committee, to initiate a project to set up a university in southern Thailand in accordance with the Southern Development plan.