Overview

The Delhi University (DU, ISO: Dillī Viśvavidyālaya), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate research central university located in Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly. The Vice President of India serves as the university chancellor. The university is ranked 6th by National Institutional Ranking Framework 2024. == History == The University of Delhi was established in 1922 was created by act of Central Legislative assembly. Hari Singh Gour served as the university's first Vice-Chancellor from 1922 to 1926. Only four colleges existed in Delhi at the time, which were affiliated to University of the Punjab at that time: St. Stephen's College founded in 1881. Hindu College founded in 1899. Zakir Husain Delhi College (then known as The Delhi College), founded in 1792 and Ramjas College founded in 1917. All of the above colleges were subsequently affiliated to the university. The university initially had two faculties (Arts and Science) and approximately 750 students. The seat of power in British India had been transferred from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911. The Viceregal Lodge Estate became the residence of the Viceroy of India until October 1933, when it was given to the University of Delhi. Since then, it has housed the office of the vice-chancellor and other offices. When Sir Maurice Gwyer came to India in 1937 to serve as Chief Justice of British India, he became the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Delhi. During his time, postgraduate teaching courses were introduced and laboratories were established at the university. Members of the faculty included Daulat Singh Kothari in Physics and Panchanan Maheshwari in Botany. Gwyer has been called the "maker of the university". He served as Vice-Chancellor until 1950. The silver jubilee year of the university in 1947 coincided with India's independence, and the national flag was hoisted in the main building for the first time by Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao. In that year there was no convocation ceremony due to the partition of India. Instead, a special ceremony was held in 1948, attended by then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, as well as by Lord Mountbatten, Lady Mountbatten, Abul Kalam Azad, Zakir Husain and Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar. Twenty-five years later the golden jubilee celebrations of 1973 were attended by the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, Satyajit Ray, Amrita Pritam, and M. S. Subbulakshmi. == Present form == The university has grown into one of the largest universities in India. There are 16 faculties, 86 academic departments, 91 colleges spread across the city, with 132,435 regular students (114,494 undergraduates and 17,941 postgraduates). There are 261,169 students in non-formal education programmes (258,831 undergraduates and 2,338 postgraduates). DU's chemistry, geology, zoology, sociology, and history departments have been awarded the status of Centres of Advanced Studies. In addition, a number of the university's departments receive grants under the Special Assistance Programme of the University Grants Commission in recognition of their outstanding academic work. From the year 2022, DU changed its admission pattern from the 12th percentage mark based to CUET (Common University Entrance Test). Now it will admit students based on their CUET scores. And the 12th class percentage marks will act as a tie-breaker for students securing the same CUET scores. Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) is the representative body of the students from member colleges, and established 1949. DU is one of the most sought-after institutions of higher education in India. It also has one of the highest publication counts among Indian universities. The annual honorary degree ceremony of the university has been conferred upon several people, which includes film actor Amitabh Bachchan, former Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit, cartoonist R. K. Laxman, chemist C. N. R. Rao and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown. == Campus == There are 91 colleges affiliated to the University of Delhi, spread across Delhi. North Campus and South Campus serve as the two main campuses of the university. Zakir Husain Delhi College, which is situated in the central part of New Delhi, is the oldest college in Delhi carrying 327 years of legacy. === North Campus === The North Campus hosts the three founding colleges of the university. It now has the School of Open Learning, the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Management Studies, the Faculty of Technology and 16 colleges including Kirori Mal College, Lady Irwin College, Daulat Ram College, Hansraj College, Hindu College, Indraprastha College for Women, Mata Sundri College for Women, Lakshmibai College, Miranda House, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, Ramjas College, St. Stephen's College,Shri Ram College of Commerce, Satyawati College, Shyam Lal College. The campus also houses centres for graduate study and research, which include the Cluster Innovation Centre, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi School of Journalism and the Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research (ACBR). === South Campus === The South Campus was opened in 1973 as part of the university's expansion plan. It moved to its present location on Benito Juarez Marg, near Dhaula Kuan, in 1984, and covers 69 acres. Its constituent colleges include, Aryabhatta College, Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College, Gargi College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, PGDAV College, Jesus and Mary College, Ramanujan College, Maitreyi College, Motilal Nehru College, Motilal Nehru College Evening, Ram Lal Anand College, Sri Venkateswara College, Lady Shri Ram College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, the Institute of Home Economics, the College of Vocational Studies, Sri Aurobindo College, Kamala Nehru College, Dyal Singh College, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing.Acharya Narendra Dev College. Deshbandhu college === Hostel facilities === Some colleges of Delhi University offer hostel facilities to students, but this facility is limited to a specific number of colleges. The allotment of hostels is also done on a merit basis. Only 20 colleges of Delhi University provide hostel facilities to students. == Organisation and administration == === Governance === The President of India is the Visitor, the Vice President of India is the Chancellor and the Chief Justice of India is the Pro-Chancellor of the university. The Court, the Executive Council, the Academic Council and the Finance Committee are the administrative authorities of the university. The University Court is the supreme authority of the university and has the power to review the acts of the Executive Council and the Academic Council. The Executive Council is the highest executive body of the university. The Academic Council is the highest academic body of the university and is responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, education, and examination within the university. It has the right to advise the Executive Council on all academic matters. The Finance Committee is responsible for recommending financial policies, goals, and budgets. === Colleges === Though the colleges are all constituent to the University of Delhi, as it is a collegiate university, depending upon the funding Delhi Colleges broadly fall into three categories: Colleges established by Educational or Charitable Trusts. Colleges are maintained by the Delhi Administration, which acts as a trust for them. Colleges maintained by the University of Delhi. The colleges maintained by universities get 100% deficit maintenance grants while the colleges run by trusts get 95% deficit grants. The university has 65 colleges that have liberal courses in humanities, social sciences, and science. Twenty-five of these colleges are affiliated with the South Campus while the others are to the North Campus. The total number of colleges under the university is 77 if the colleges that run professional courses are included. Some colleges also offer evening courses. The university includes an undergraduate management college 'Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, which is ranked as the best B-school in the country at this level, by India Today. === Faculties === The University of Delhi's 86 academic departments are divided into 16 faculties. Faculty of Applied Social Sciences & Humanities Faculty of Arts Faculty of Commerce and Business Studies Faculty of Education Faculty of Interdisciplinary and Applied Sciences Faculty of Law Faculty of Management Studies Faculty of Mathematical Sciences Faculty of Medical Sciences Faculty of Music and Fine Arts Faculty of Open Learning: The faculty is concerned with distance education. Faculty of Science Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Technology In the past, the Faculty of Technology offered courses in Engineering and Technology. The faculty earlier included the Delhi College of Engineering, before it was transformed into the Delhi Technological University and Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology before it was transformed into the Netaji Subhas University of Technology. It was again established in 2023. ==== Affiliated faculties ==== The University of Delhi has two affiliated faculties: Faculty of Ayurvedic & Unani Medicine: The faculty awards degrees to its students in Ayurvedic medicine and Unani medicine. Faculty of Homoeopathic Medicine: The faculty awards degrees to its students in Homoepathic medicine. === Centres and institutes === There are about 28 centres and institutes at DU. These are divided into four categories: ==== Postgraduate centres ==== Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Centre For Biomedical Research — Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research is a centre where a multispecialty group of scientists participate in teaching and research in basic and applied biomedical sciences. Institute of Informatics and Communication – focuses on the field of communication and information technology. Delhi School of Economics: Commonly referred to as DSE, it is a centre of postgraduate learning. Starting in the year 1949, the campus of the Delhi School of Economics houses the University of Delhi's Departments of Economics, Commerce, Sociology and Geography. Delhi School of Journalism - The University of Delhi established the Delhi School of Journalism (DSJ) in 2017 and introduced a Five-Year Integrated Course in Journalism. School of Open Learning - offer postgraduate courses, degrees and diplomas ==== Centres ==== Cluster Innovation Centre (DU-CIC) presents its students with an interdisciplinary study system that involves hands-on projects and connects research with application in society. CIC is supported by the National Innovation Council and aided by the Ministry of Education. Design Innovation Centre (DIC or DUDIC) - A design centre in North Campus established under National Initiative for Design Innovation by Ministry of Human Resource Development. It offers courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students in design thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship. The University of Delhi is the main hub and one of the 5 institutions to be granted the DIC project in the first round. D.S. Kothari Centre for Science, Ethics and Education – The objective of Daulat Singh Kothari Centre for Science, Ethics and Education is to raise the standard of living of the people. It is based on science and technology, and education that determines the level of prosperity, welfare and security of the people. Agricultural Economics Research Centre – The centre was established and is completely funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of India to carry out research related to the rural economy and agriculture in India. Since then, the centre has completed more than hundreds of policy-oriented studies for the Ministry of Agriculture. Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystem – The centre works towards strengthening awareness, research and training in priority areas of environmental management of degraded ecosystems. The centre coordinates with the other departments of SES, viz. Department of Environmental Biology and Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Mountain & Hill Environment on issues of biodiversity conservation, habitat loss, pollution and rehabilitation of displaced people due to developmental activities. Centre for Inter-disciplinary Studies of Mountain & Hill Environment – The concept of the centre revolves around the idea that the upland areas play a crucial role in the production and regeneration of natural resources like fresh water, and forests, besides sustaining a rich genetic diversity of plant and animal life. The Centre for Professional Development in Higher Education provides opportunities for professional and career development to teachers across the universities of India. CPDHE helps build competence in research methodologies and pedagogy, and expands technologies in ICT, Science and Technology, Environment and Education. The Centre For Science Education