This historical study of higher education in Thailand argues that from the onset, it has been based on international models in scope and nature. The impact of colonisation across South and East Asia created the pressures necessary for Thailand to establish higher education programmes. From the nineteenth-century formation of palace schools to the rapid growth of international higher education programmes today, the system is designed to assist Thailand in the development process through educational, social and economic modernisation while maintaining and recreating concepts of Thainess. Whereas in the nineteenth century the goal was to facilitate Thai independence from imperialist intentions, today, the goal is to participate within an economy dominated by globalisation trends and massive expansion. A chronological description of the international nature of Thai higher education begins with the initial formation of higher education institutions in the mid-nineteenth century and concludes with the changes taking place in 2015.