Delhi University
The University of Delhi, commonly referred to as Delhi University 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 5th by National Institutional Ranking Framework 2025 In University.
History
The University of Delhi was established in 1922, was created by an act of the 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 with University of the Punjab at that time :
- St. Stephen's College, founded in 1881
- Hindu College, founded in 1899
- Zakir Husain Delhi College,, founded in 1792
- Ramjas College, founded in 1917
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. There are 261,169 students in non-formal education programmes. 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. 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 is the representative body of the students from member colleges, and was established in 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, including 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.The North Campus hosts the three founding colleges of the university. 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.
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 university has 65 colleges that offer 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.
| Name | Established | Location/Campus |
| Aditi Mahavidyalaya | 1994 | North Campus |
| Zakir Husain Delhi College | 1696 | North Campus |
| Daulat Ram College | 1960 | North Campus |
| Hindu College | 1899 | North Campus |
| Hansraj College | 1948 | North Campus |
| Indraprastha College for Women | 1924 | North Campus |
| Kirori Mal College | 1954 | North Campus |
| Miranda House | 1948 | North Campus |
| Ramjas College | 1917 | North Campus |
| St. Stephen's College | 1881 | North Campus |
| Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies | 1987 | North Campus |
| Shri Ram College of Commerce | 1926 | North Campus |
| Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College | 1951 | North Campus |
| School of Open Learning | 1962 | North Campus |
| Swami Shraddhanand College | 1967 | North Campus |
| Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute | 1949 | North Campus |
| Acharya Narendra Dev College | 1991 | South Campus |
| Aryabhatta College | 1973 | South Campus |
| Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College | 1959 | South Campus |
| Delhi College of Arts and Commerce | 1987 | South Campus |
| Jesus and Mary College | 1968 | South Campus |
| Maitreyi College | 1967 | South Campus |
| Motilal Nehru College | 1964 | South Campus |
| Motilal Nehru College | 1965 | South Campus |
| Ram Lal Anand College | 1964 | South Campus |
| Sri Venkateswara College | 1961 | South Campus |
| College of Vocational Studies | 1972 | South Campus |
| Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research | 1964 | South Campus |
| Deshbandhu College | 1952 | South Campus |
| Dyal Singh College | 1959 | South Campus |
| Gargi College | 1967 | South Campus |
| Institute of Home Economics | 1961 | South Campus |
| Kamala Nehru College | 1964 | South Campus |
| Lady Shri Ram College for Women | 1956 | South Campus |
| P.G.D.A.V. College | 1957 | South Campus |
| P.G.D.A.V. College | 1958 | South Campus |
| Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing | 1946 | South Campus |
| Ramanujan College | 2010 | South Campus |
| Sri Aurobindo College | 1972 | South Campus |
| Sri Aurobindo College | 1984 | South Campus |
| Shaheed Bhagat Singh College | 1967 | South Campus |
| Shaheed Bhagat Singh College | 1973 | South Campus |
| Dyal Singh Evening College | 1958 | South Campus |
| Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College | 1916 | Central Campus |
| College of Art | 1942 | Central Campus |
| Janki Devi Memorial College | 1959 | Central Campus |
| Lady Hardinge Medical College | 1916 | Central Campus |
| Lady Irwin College | 1932 | Central Campus |
| Mata Sundri College for Women | 1967 | Central Campus |
| Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences | 2003 | Central Campus |
| Maulana Azad Medical College | 1956 | Central Campus |
| Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College | 1973 | Central Campus |
| Zakir Husain Delhi College | 1792 | Central Campus |
| Zakir Husain Delhi College | 1958 | Central Campus |
| Maharaja Agrasen College | 1994 | East Delhi |
| Maharshi Valmiki College of Education | 1996 | East Delhi |
| Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women | 1989 | East Delhi |
| Shyam Lal College | 1964 | East Delhi |
| Shyam Lal College | 1969 | East Delhi |
| Vivekananda College | 1970 | East Delhi |
| Nehru Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital | 1967 | South Delhi |
| Bhim Rao Ambedkar College | 1991 | North East Delhi |
| University College of Medical Sciences | 1971 | North East Delhi |
| Bharati College | 1971 | West Delhi |
| Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College | 1990 | West Delhi |
| Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences | 1987 | West Delhi |
| Kalindi College | 1967 | West Delhi |
| Rajdhani College | 1964 | West Delhi |
| Shivaji College | 1961 | West Delhi |
| Shyama Prasad Mukherji College | 1969 | West Delhi |
| Keshav Mahavidyalaya | 1994 | North West Delhi |
| Lakshmibai College | 1965 | North West Delhi |
| Satyawati College | 1972 | North West Delhi |
| Satyawati College | 1973 | North West Delhi |
| Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce | 1984 | North West Delhi |
| Bhagini Nivedita College | 1993 | South West Delhi |
| Lady Irwin College | 1932 | South West Delhi |
| Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences | 1995 | South West Delhi |