In 1960, the governments of the then Federation of Malaya and Singapore indicated their desire to change the status of the divisions into that of a national university. Legislation was passed in 1961 establishing the former Kuala Lumpur division as the University of Malaya while the Singapore division was renamed the University of Singapore on 1 January 1962.
From 1959 to the mid-sixties, the teaching staff number in the Department of Physics increased slowly from 7 to 10. It further went up to 16 in 1973 as many returned scholars joined the department. This number remained about the same for the rest of the decade. Professor Gatha passed away in 1967 and Professor Hon again acted as head of the department until 1969 when Professor A Rajaratnam was appointed as the new head.
The number of pass-degree physics graduates increased steadily from 20 in 1959 to a peak of 79 in 1967. After this peak, it dropped to a low of 22 in 1973 and varied between 30 and 40 for the next few years. The number of honours-degree graduates also followed the same trend, rising from 3 in 1959 to 31 in 1968 and then declined to 13 in 1974. The drop in the physics student enrolment after 1968 was due to the establishment of the Engineering Faculty and the fact that very few students from Malaysia gained entry to the university.
The physics course content and structure had changed a great deal in these twenty years. In 1964, an additional course was introduced for third-year students and henceforth, there were two physics courses—Theoretical Physics and Experimental Physics. Students intending to read honours in physics had to take both courses in their third year. In 1973, the courses were revised and re-structured and the syllabi expanded in all years. Theoretical Physics and Experimental Physics were renamed Physics and Applied Physics respectively. The revision of the physics courses was done to provide students with training relevant to the local industries. Subjects such as workshop technology, linear programming, computer programming, applied electronics and materials science were included in the Applied Physics course.
In 1966, the extension to the physics building in the Bukit Timah campus was completed. The building was formally declared open by the late former Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew on 1 July 1966.
In the area of research, the activities were generally low in the sixties and seventies. Emphasis was placed on teaching and producing graduates who were in demand by the local industries.