The establishment of USM began with an agreement through a resolution which was approved by the Penang State Legislative Assembly in 1962, which called for the establishment of a university college in the state. Initially, the university operated on borrowed premises at the Malayan Teachers' Training College at Gelugor. In 1971, it moved to its present 239.4-hectare site at Minden (formerly Minden
Barracks of the British Far East Command) in Gelugor, approximately 9.7 kilometres from the city of Georgetown. The site, which consists mainly of undulating land, is an ideal location to house a university campus.