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University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (CU), is a public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate colleges and 16 institutes in Kolkata and nearby areas. It was established on 24 January 1857 and is the oldest multidisciplinary university of the Indian Subcontinent and the Southeast Asian Region. Today, the university's jurisdiction is limited to a few districts of West Bengal, but at the time of its establishment, it had a catchment area ranging from Kabul to Myanmar. It is accredited as an "A" grade university by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
The university has a total of fourteen campuses spread over the city of Kolkata and its suburbs. Since 2020[update], 151 colleges and 21 institutes, and centres have been affiliated with CU. The university was fourth in the Indian University Ranking 2021 list, released by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of the Ministry of Education.
Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state and government, social reformers, prominent artists, the only Indian Dirac Medal winner, many Fellows of the Royal Society, and six Nobel laureates as of 2025[update]. The Nobel laureates associated with this university are Ronald Ross, Rabindranath Tagore, C. V. Raman, Amartya Sen, and Abhijit Banerjee.
The university has the highest number of students who have cleared the National Eligibility Test. The University of Calcutta is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact.
Fredrick John, the education secretary to the British Government of India, first tendered a proposal to them in London for the establishment of a university in Calcutta, along the lines of London University. In July 1854, the Court of Directors of the East India Company sent a dispatch, known as Wood's despatch, to the Governor General of India in Council, to establish universities in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay.
The Calcutta University Act came into force on 24 January 1857, and a 41-member Senate was formed as the policy-making body of the university. The land for the establishment of the university was given by Maharaja Maheshwar Singh Bahadur, who was the Maharaja of Darbhanga. When the university was first established, it had a jurisdiction from Kabul to Rangoon and Ceylon, the largest of any Indian university. Calcutta University was the first university east of Suez to teach European classics, English literature, European and Indian philosophy and Occidental and Oriental history. The first medical school in British India, the Calcutta Medical College, was affiliated with the university in 1857. The first college for women in India, Bethune College, is also affiliated with the university.
From 1836 to 1890, Government Science College, Jabalpur, the first Indian science college, was affiliated with the University of Calcutta. The first university library began functioning in the 1870s. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Joddu Nath Bose became the first graduates of the university in 1858, and Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu were the first Indian female graduates in 1882. The first chancellor and vice-chancellor of the Calcutta University were Governor General Lord Canning and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir William Colvile, respectively. Ashutosh Mukherjee was the vice-chancellor for four consecutive two-year terms (1906–1914) and a fifth two-year term in 1921–23.
Initially, the university was only an affiliating and examining body. All the academic and teaching work was done in constituent colleges, which were the Presidency College, the Scottish Church College, the Sanskrit College, and the Bengal Engineering College. During that period, the Council Room of the Calcutta Medical College and the private residence of the vice-chancellor used to house the Senate meetings. The faculty councils generally met at the residences of the presidents of the faculties concerned, in the Civil Engineering College, or in the Writers' Building. Because of the lack of space, university examinations were conducted in the Kolkata Town Hall and in tents in the Maidan urban park.
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University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (CU), is a public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate colleges and 16 institutes in Kolkata and nearby areas. It was established on 24 January 1857 and is the oldest multidisciplinary university of the Indian Subcontinent and the Southeast Asian Region. Today, the university's jurisdiction is limited to a few districts of West Bengal, but at the time of its establishment, it had a catchment area ranging from Kabul to Myanmar. It is accredited as an "A" grade university by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
The university has a total of fourteen campuses spread over the city of Kolkata and its suburbs. Since 2020[update], 151 colleges and 21 institutes, and centres have been affiliated with CU. The university was fourth in the Indian University Ranking 2021 list, released by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of the Ministry of Education.
Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state and government, social reformers, prominent artists, the only Indian Dirac Medal winner, many Fellows of the Royal Society, and six Nobel laureates as of 2025[update]. The Nobel laureates associated with this university are Ronald Ross, Rabindranath Tagore, C. V. Raman, Amartya Sen, and Abhijit Banerjee.
The university has the highest number of students who have cleared the National Eligibility Test. The University of Calcutta is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact.
Fredrick John, the education secretary to the British Government of India, first tendered a proposal to them in London for the establishment of a university in Calcutta, along the lines of London University. In July 1854, the Court of Directors of the East India Company sent a dispatch, known as Wood's despatch, to the Governor General of India in Council, to establish universities in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay.
The Calcutta University Act came into force on 24 January 1857, and a 41-member Senate was formed as the policy-making body of the university. The land for the establishment of the university was given by Maharaja Maheshwar Singh Bahadur, who was the Maharaja of Darbhanga. When the university was first established, it had a jurisdiction from Kabul to Rangoon and Ceylon, the largest of any Indian university. Calcutta University was the first university east of Suez to teach European classics, English literature, European and Indian philosophy and Occidental and Oriental history. The first medical school in British India, the Calcutta Medical College, was affiliated with the university in 1857. The first college for women in India, Bethune College, is also affiliated with the university.
From 1836 to 1890, Government Science College, Jabalpur, the first Indian science college, was affiliated with the University of Calcutta. The first university library began functioning in the 1870s. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Joddu Nath Bose became the first graduates of the university in 1858, and Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu were the first Indian female graduates in 1882. The first chancellor and vice-chancellor of the Calcutta University were Governor General Lord Canning and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir William Colvile, respectively. Ashutosh Mukherjee was the vice-chancellor for four consecutive two-year terms (1906–1914) and a fifth two-year term in 1921–23.
Initially, the university was only an affiliating and examining body. All the academic and teaching work was done in constituent colleges, which were the Presidency College, the Scottish Church College, the Sanskrit College, and the Bengal Engineering College. During that period, the Council Room of the Calcutta Medical College and the private residence of the vice-chancellor used to house the Senate meetings. The faculty councils generally met at the residences of the presidents of the faculties concerned, in the Civil Engineering College, or in the Writers' Building. Because of the lack of space, university examinations were conducted in the Kolkata Town Hall and in tents in the Maidan urban park.