The earliest evidence of Higher Education in western style in Myanmar dates back to 1878, when a few students of the Rangoon High School were given some teachings to enable them to appear for the First Arts examination of the University of Calcutta, India. (Ref. The University and its colleges, p.24)

A College Department was opened at Rangoon High School under the name of Rangoon College in 1884-85 and was affiliated in Arts to the Calcutta University. The management of the college was placed first in the hands of Burma Educational Syndicate and later the Government took over the management in 1904. It was then known as Government College, Rangoon. There was another college in Rangoon known as "American Baptist Mission College", which gave Intermediates instructions to a small group of students in the year 1894.

Its name was later changed to Judson College and gave instructions to Bachelor Degrees - Pass and Honour standards - in English, Pali, Philosophy, Mathematics, History, Chemistry and Physics but only Intermediate instruction to Burmese language. Both colleges were affiliated to the University of Calcutta.

(Ref. The Constituent Colleges - University of Rangoon Calendar for the Period of 1st June 1922 to 31st May 1923).