The University of Distance Education, Mandalay , located in Mandalay, is one of two universities under the University of Distance Education system in Myanmar. With over 500,000 students mostly studying liberal arts and economics, the UDE system is the largest university in Myanmar. The Mandalay university serves distance education students in Upper Myanmar whereas the University of Distance Education, Yangon serves Lower Myanmar.The University of Distance Education system was established in July 1992 in Yangon. In 1998, the University of Distance Education, Mandalay was founded to serve Upper Myanmar. The Mandalay university handles 18 of the 32 campuses of the UDE system. The UDE's popularity has consistently increased. The enrollment in the university increased from over 38,000 in academic year 1987-88 to over 560,000 students in 2001-02