Thammasat University is Thailand's second oldest university.  Officially inaugurated on 27 June 1934 at Tha Phra Chan on the Rattanakosin Island and on the Bank of the Chao Phraya River. The University’s founder, Prof. Dr. Pridi Banomyong, originally named Thammasat the “University of Ethics  and Politics”, reflecting its primary mission to offer  higher education in the disciplines of law and politics to the new citizenry and prepare Thai people for their new democratic system. Hoping to make higher learning accessible to all, Thammasat began as an open university with 7,094 students enrolled in its first academic year.

Since its initial inception, Thammasat University has evolved from an open university for law and politics to a prestigious international research university offering all levels of academic degrees and producing cutting edge research across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines. The University has graduated more than 300,000 students since its founding who have gone on to make great contributions to the development and progress of Thailand and the world. Notable university alumni include former Prime Ministers, leading politicians and government figures, Bank of Thailand governors, supreme court judges, provincial governors, as well as experts in various fields.

Today, Thammasat University still follows its guiding philosophy to uphold academic excellence, services to society, promotion of arts and culture, social equality and social justice under the philosophies of constitutional monarchy and democracy. Thammasat students are not only well-rounded and well-adjusted members of their community, but are also conscious of their social responsibility as famously expressed by a former student,

"I love Thammasat because Thammasat teaches me to love the people."