National University of Laos

The National University of Laos (NUOL) is the first comprehensive university in the history of the Lao PDR. It was established on 5 November 1996 under Prime Minister's Decree No. 50/PM of 9 June 1995, by merging ten existing higher education institutions that had been run by different ministries, among them the former Dongdok forestry school.

The university has faculties such as Agriculture and Natural Sciences, and an Office of Post-graduate Studies that manages its graduate programmes. NUOL also hosts a Confucius Institute. It has signed 155 memoranda of understanding and agreements with universities, institutions, networks and international organisations, and takes part in international projects such as the Erasmus+ project REAL (Reforming higher education in Laos) and CAMPUS Asia Plus.

Admission to the university is by entrance examination; registration notices for new students at all levels for the 2026-2027 academic year are published on the university website in Lao. A scholarship fund supports poor and orphaned students from remote areas so that they can study at NUOL until graduation.