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Loei Rajabhat University is part of a group of 38 Rajabhat universities ¨C a title conferred by King Bhumibol which translates to "Royal" - whose purpose is to ensure that graduate-level higher education is available in every state of Thailand. The institution reached university status in 2004.

It is based in Loei, the capital city of the state of the same name, around 350 miles north-east of Bangkok. It is a mountainous district with a warm tropical climate with average monthly temperatures varying between 21 and 29 degrees centigrade.

It was funded by a World Bank loan at the time of its foundation in 1973. It was initially called the Loei Teacher College and accepted the first group of 640 students onto a diploma in education in 1976. It began to offer degrees in 1980 and then expanded to teach other disciplines in 1985 and started offering master's course in 1998. It became a Rajabhat Institute in 1995.

It calls itself a "university for local development" and aims to "produce graduates with knowledge and morality" and "develop the local to international level".

It has faculties of education, humanities and social science; science and technology; industrial technology, and management science. As well as the main campus in Loei the university also maintains an annexe in the neighbouring state of Khon Kaen.

Teacher-training remains a core mission, as one of 24 licensed Thai institutions to do this.

Since 1985 the on-campus Loei Demonstration school, for kindergarten and primary pupils, allows students to practice teaching within a school environment.

Since 2013 it has had a student exchange partnership with Hue University in Vietnam.