Highlights:

• Pre-University Counseling & Admission: Proactive mobile outreach guiding prospective disabled students across regional schools into higher education.
• Scholarships & Career Mentoring: Tuition grants up to 70,000 Baht alongside Individual Career Plan (ICP) workshops for post-graduation employment.
• Assistive Technology & Facilities: Provision of custom wheelchairs, assistive hardware grants, and Universal Design high-rise earthquake safety protocols.
• Tutoring, Buddies & Athletic Support: Peer tutoring, TU Buddy volunteer assistance, inclusive sports events, and international para-athlete mentoring.
• Accessible Learning & Library Media: Tactile Braille textbooks, e-books, line-delivery library services, and accessible museum media.
• Rights, Legal Advocacy & Dignity: Translation of judicial court documents into Braille (C.A.R.E Project) ensuring full constitutional rights protection.

Thammasat Disability Access Schemes

Thammasat University is regarded as the first higher education institution in Thailand to establish the dedicated ‘Students with Disabilities Project’ to expand educational access and foster equal learning opportunities. Through its Disability Support Services (DSS) Center, Universal Design Center (UDC), and University Library, Thammasat guarantees accessible, equitable, and inclusive living and learning environments for all students and community members with disabilities. The university’s comprehensive access schemes combine institutional policy frameworks with active targeted support programs across six primary pillars.

Beyond the core services and accessible facilities, Thammasat provides pre-university support and access schemes that help students with disabilities prepare for university life before they enroll. The Preparation Program for Students with Disabilities covers an orientation to the university’s facilities; the use of learning equipment, computers, the internet and audiobooks; how to read Braille from computer screens and other electronic supports; and the skills needed in daily life. In addition, Viva City Thammasat Counseling offers free mental health support to students through individual and group counseling, and DSS staff provide counseling sessions on personal, mental, and school-related concerns.

Pre-University Counseling Program, Admission, and Course Registration

Thammasat University provides comprehensive pre-university guidance, specialized quota admissions, and hassle-free registration support. Students with disabilities receive complete fee waivers for tuition registration and direct assistance in resolving course enrollment obstacles without advance fee payments.

The DSS Center runs a mentoring program, the Pre-University Preparation Program for Students with Disabilities, to help prospective students get ready before they attend the university. Participants learn the daily-life skills they will need, such as using assistive devices, instructional materials, learning equipment, and supporting technologies, and accessing campus facilities and dormitories. The program includes an orientation to university facilities, coordination with faculties, course registration, and training in using learning equipment, computers, the internet, audiobooks, and Braille display from computer screens and other electronic supports. Most importantly, it introduces the facilities, support, and services available at the DSS Center.

February 2025: Pre-University Guidance and Counseling Program – DSS Center conducted mobile counseling across 7 specialized schools in 6 provinces (Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Phrae, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lampang), guiding prospective disabled high school students on university quotas and rights.

Scholarships, Grants, Internships, and Career Mentoring

Students holding official disability identification cards receive government educational grants up to 60,000 Baht (or up to 70,000 Baht for science fields) allocated directly toward tuition fees. Furthermore, Thammasat offers career counseling, internship matching, and structured graduate employment mentoring.

Each year the admission program also provides around 25 scholarships of 55,000 Baht (approx. US$1,600) per year to students with disabilities who are in need. The scholarships do not have to be repaid; recipients only check in with the DSS Center at least once a week during the first few months and then once a month for the rest of their studies, so that staff can follow their progress and address any problems they face at the university.

For career development, the DSS Center organizes the “Mentee Meet Mentor” program, which provides career counseling and mentoring and prepares students with disabilities for the workforce. The program helps current students, soon-to-be graduates, and interested students with disabilities develop the potential, skills, and knowledge needed for employment, so that they are well prepared in various respects before applying for jobs.

July 2025: Individual Career Plan (ICP) Workshop for Students with Disabilities – DSS Center delivered intensive career goal setting and roadmap planning for 20 disabled students and 5 student volunteer mentors.

August 2025: Youth with Disabilities Career Preparation Camp – Work-readiness empowerment camp for unemployed disabled youth and graduates under 30, building workplace leadership and career confidence.

September 2025: Scholarship Allocation Program (Academic Year 2025) – Allocated 660,000 Baht in direct financial scholarships to 12 disabled undergraduate students across Journalism, Commerce, Political Science, Social Work, Engineering, Innovation, and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Dormitory, Assistive Devices, and Transportation Support

Thammasat University supports students with disabilities who wish to live on campus through a dedicated dormitory booking process. Students submit their requirements through a form provided by the Center for Students with Disabilities (https://forms.gle/AhCLMSoG4saUMZmc7), so that staff can allocate accommodation suited to their needs. They also register in the dormitory system of the Office of Property Management and Sports (psm.tu.ac.th/register and precheckin.psm.tu.ac.th), which can be done entirely online without visiting the office. Students who do not yet have a student ID number may leave that field blank. Students may state their gender identity as they wish, and this does not affect selection, although rooms are assigned according to gender.

Applicants should check their details carefully, especially their email address and telephone number, because results and other information are sent through these channels. Each student can select one room type only. If the chosen room type is full, staff will contact the student to ask whether they wish to change. Students who apply for the “Students with Disabilities Scholarship” to cover daily living expenses may choose rooms in Zone F or Zone M only, in line with the University’s scholarship conditions.

Every student with disabilities who wishes to live on campus is assigned a dormitory without exception, and a buddy or volunteer (on request) and assistive devices matched to their disability are arranged for them. Depending on the type of scholarship and its terms and conditions, scholarships from the admission program may also cover the cost of room and board. The DSS Center maintains and loans assistive hardware, standard and electric wheelchairs, audio recorders, and desktop magnifiers, while ensuring campus pathways feature Universal Design ramps, elevators, and Braille tactile blocks.

Every student with disabilities at Thammasat has the right to the assistive devices they need. All students receive a laptop computer and a voice recorder, and further devices are provided according to individual needs: a white cane for blind students; image-enlarging devices for students with visual impairments; standard and electric wheelchairs that students with mobility impairments may borrow for their entire period of study and return at graduation; and hearing and speaking aids for students with hearing disabilities, who can also request a class coordinator from the DSS Center to help them communicate with faculty staff and teachers. The Center also covers the maintenance cost of all devices.

September 2025: Assistive Equipment Allocation Scheme for Road Accident Victims – Distributed grant funding for specialized wheelchairs and assistive devices to individuals disabled from road traffic accidents in partnership with the Department of Land Transport.

November 26, 2025: Mobility Rights and Transportation Accessibility Training – UDC
Thammasat conducted Northern regional training for municipal officers and persons with physical disabilities on Universal Design transit standards and accessible building
infrastructure.

Tutoring, Buddies, Mental Counseling, Volunteer Support, and Athletic Mentoring

To support daily campus living, Thammasat operates English tutoring sessions at the Language Center and mobilizes ‘TU Buddy’ student volunteers. Volunteers assist disabled peers with subject tutoring, mobility assistance, and campus navigation, while the university actively mentors student-athletes with disabilities.

The TU Buddy volunteer group supports students with disabilities through subject-specific tutoring and practical help in daily life, such as walking with a student to a building he or she has not visited before, typing documents to create digital files for Braille production, and recording audiobooks. The program currently has more than 30 volunteers. In addition, DSS staff provide mental counseling sessions in which students can talk about their personal, mental, and school-related problems.

December 2025: Mentoring for Disabled Student-Athlete at Asian Youth Para Games – Provided institutional sponsorship and elite athletic mentoring for Mr. Krittayot Kaewkamma (2nd-year Engineering) competing in wheelchair basketball in Dubai, UAE.

Instructional, Cultural, and Online Learning Materials

Instructional course materials are converted into formats matching specific disability requirements, including tactile Braille textbooks, large-print volumes, screen-reader compatible e-files, and audiobooks produced in 4 specialized campus recording booths. Among students with disabilities, those with visual impairments tend to face more difficulties than other groups. The university has therefore organized several volunteer groups to produce learning materials for visually impaired students, including e-books, audiobooks, and Braille books for class materials and textbooks, and to read books aloud for them.

Volunteers are recruited through Facebook, LINE, and banners around the campus. They receive a free lunch and community service hours and can choose dates and times that suit them. Volunteers who type well rewrite class materials and textbooks into Braille, while those who read well record audiobooks for visually impaired students.

March 2025: Incluseum 101 Project – Developed low-cost accessible museum media featuring QR-code Audio Descriptions, Braille signage, and tactile indicators at Thammasat Museum of Anthropology.

September 2025: Accessible Learning Materials Technology Showcase (Booth A06) – Demonstrated KIBO OCR scanners, Tactile View software, and automated Braille translation at NCPD 2025, benefiting 32 visually impaired students.

December 2025: Library Book Retrieval and Delivery Scheme – Provided LINE @lifeonline book searching and direct campus delivery to the DSS Center for disabled students.

Other Supports on Rights, Protection, Safety, and Human Dignity

Thammasat collaborates with national judicial, constitutional, and emergency planning bodies to protect the legal rights, freedom, physical safety, and human dignity of persons with disabilities in accordance with the Thai Constitution.

March 2025: High-Rise Earthquake Evacuation Training – UDC Thammasat established emergency evacuation protocols and simulation drills tailored for persons with physical and sensory disabilities in high-rise buildings.

May 2025: Production of Legal Case Documents in Braille – DSS Center partnered with Thonburi Criminal Court under the C.A.R.E. project to translate court case documents into Braille, guaranteeing full legal transparency and constitutional rights protection.