Our History

On April 1, 1970, the Samudra Education Foundation initiated higher education programs in Langsa City, Aceh Province. Initially, the foundation established two institutions: the College of Law and Social Sciences and the College of Economics. After fifteen years of operation, in 1985, the Samudra Education Foundation received authorization to merge these institutions into a private university named Samudra University, Langsa.

The establishment of Samudra University, Langsa was officially recognized by the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia through Decree No. 0477/0/1985, issued on October 22, 1985. Over the subsequent twenty-eight years, Samudra University, Langsa made significant progress in delivering higher education to the eastern region of Aceh.

On May 13, 2013, the university transitioned to state university (PTN) status, as formalized by Presidential Regulation No. 37 of 2013 regarding the establishment of Samudra University. At the time of this transition, the university operated eleven study programs across five faculties and occupied a campus area of 49.8 hectares.

To establish the organizational structure and governance of the university, and to provide a framework for implementing the Tridharma of higher education, the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia issued Ministerial Regulation No. 90 of 2013 on the Organization and Governance of Samudra University, followed by Ministerial Regulation No. 23 of 2014 concerning the Statute of Samudra University.

In response to the evolving demands for human resources across diverse disciplines, particularly in alignment with the Tridharma of higher education, Samudra University was granted approval to establish fourteen new study programs in 2014. This approval was formalized in Ministerial Decree No. 361/E/O/2014, dated August 27, 2014. As a result, by that year, Samudra University had expanded to offer a total of twenty-five study programs. Today, Samudra University is a growing higher education institution, comprising five faculties and offering a wide range of academic programs across 27 study disciplines.