Christian Student Feared Studying at UMY, But It Turned Out...
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) is known as an Islamic-based university where the majority of students follow the Islamic faith. This initially made Misca Olivia Siantiara, a Nursing student from Central Kalimantan who is Christian, worried she might be treated differently because of her religion.
“I was afraid at first, but adapting was no problem at all — it was actually easy. They accept those of us with different beliefs; we can accept one another. I feel comfortable here, everyone complements each other,” said Misca when met during UMY’s Orientation Period (Mataf) at the UMY Sportorium in Bantul on Monday (7/9/2026).
UMY became Misca’s university of choice after she failed to gain admission to a state university. Despite her initial concerns, she chose UMY for academic reasons.
“I originally wanted to get into a state university but didn’t pass. I really wanted to study nursing, and I looked at the accreditation. There are many options elsewhere, but the one with A accreditation — the best of everything — is here at UMY,” she said.
Misca’s fears turned out to be unfounded. She was warmly received by the entire academic community at UMY. Misca said there are also several non-Muslim female students in UMY’s Nursing programme.
“It turns out there are four non-Muslims in Nursing. As far as I know, there are four non-Muslim girls, so I have company,” she said.
Regarding Islamic orientation activities for students, Misca said she still participates in those activities. However, she does not take part in certain elements such as reading the Qur’an, which is usually used as an entrance test.
“At first I just gave it a try, then I entered through the report card route and passed straight away. I didn’t take the Qur’an reading test. There will also be an orientation for Muslim friends later; I’ll still join, though I don’t know yet what it will be like,” she concluded.
A total of 4,580 new students took part in UMY’s Orientation Period (Mataf) for the 2026/2027 academic year. The General Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Central Executive Board, Prof Dr Haedar Nashir, gave a special message to new students not to feel inferior about studying at a private university.
Mataf UMY was held at the UMY Sportorium in Bantul on Monday (7/9). The orientation activities were attended by all new students from dozens of study programmes at UMY.
In his address, Haedar said that the development of higher education means the quality of a university can no longer be judged solely by whether it is state or private. According to him, a university’s ability to meet national and global standards has become increasingly important.
“Never feel that studying at a private university means being second class. This is the era of quality, of national and global standards,” said Haedar.