The university offers mainly undergraduate and postgraduate degrees (Bachelor's, Master's, Post-graduate Diploma, and Doctorate) programs in liberal arts, sciences and law.

Today degrees in Political Science are offered to undergraduate students, as well as postgraduate diplomas in areas such as social work and geology.

Leaders of the Burmese independence movement such as General Aung San, U Nu, Ne Win and U Thant are some of the notable alumni of the university.

National Day in fact commemorates the rebellion of Burmese students at Rangoon University in 1920.

By the 1930s, the university was the hotbed of Burmese nationalism, producing a number of future senior Burmese politicians, including General Aung San, U Nu, Ba Maw, Kyaw Nyein, Ba Swe, U Thant and Thein Pe Myint.

[7][9][10] The Japanese occupied the university during the Second World War, but it recovered and flourished after Burma gained independence in 1948.

[6] After the military coup of 1962 under General Ne Win, and under the Burmese Way to Socialism, Rangoon University was put directly under the control of the Directorate of Higher Education, a central government agency, whereas previously it was run by a council of professors, scholars and government officials.

Educational standards began to decline markedly, and international bodies ceased to recognize degrees issued or obtained at the university.

[6] In November 1974, the former UN Secretary General U Thant died, and on the day of his funeral on 5 December 1974, Rangoon University students snatched his coffin on display at the Kyaikkasan Race Course, and erected a makeshift mausoleum on the grounds of the RUSU in protest against the government for not honouring their famous countryman with a state funeral.

The military stormed the campus on 11 December killing some of the students, recovered the coffin, and buried U Thant at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

The movement was crushed by the army Chief of Staff General Saw Maung who took over and instated the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC or na wa ta).

For its commemoration, the government built the Diamond Jubilee Hall, a four-storied building in the university's grounds, which cost Ks.63,00,00,000.

In 2013, Aung San Suu Kyi was named head of the Yangon University Upgrading and Restoration Committee.

The choice of different fields of learning takes place in upper secondary school where students choose particular subjects directed towards their tertiary education.

Although YU no longer offered the undergraduate degrees owing to the uprising in 1996, it now was reopened for the undergraduate degrees with the name of (COE) what literally means Center of Excellence in 2014 and accepted only 50 selectively excellent students for each field of studies.

(Although undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are still available to current days, the recognition of status of international COE of the university has been discontinued.)