Yadanabon University was opened in 2000 as Yadanabon College in Amarapura in southern Mandalay to serve students from the city's surround suburbs. The move was widely believed to be part of the Burmese military government's plan to disperse university students across many universities and colleges around the country. All arts and science universities in Myanmar, attended by the bulk of the university students, were closed down from December 1996 to July 2000, following student demonstrations in Yangon. When the universities reopened in 2000, students who would have attended Mandalay University in central Mandalay now have to attend Yadanabon University. In 2003, Yadanabon College was "upgraded" to Yadanabon University by the military government. The first convocation of the Yadanabon University was held in January 2003. The university conferred degrees on 4,148 graduates.