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Other name | Mumbai University |
|---|---|
Former name | University of Bombay (1857-1995) |
| Motto | Śīlavṛttaphalā Vidyā (Sanskrit) |
Motto in English | The Fruit of Learning is Character and Righteous Conduct |
| Type | Public University |
| Established | 18 July 1857; 168 years ago (1857-07-18) |
| Founder | |
| Accreditation | NAAC |
Academic affiliations | |
| Chancellor | Governor of Maharashtra |
| Vice-Chancellor | Dr. Ravindra D. Kulkarni |
| Students | 7,579[1] |
| Undergraduates | 1,459[1] |
| Postgraduates | 5,638[1] |
| Location | ,, India 18°58′30″N72°49′33″E / 18.97500°N 72.82583°E /18.97500; 72.82583 |
| Campus | Urban All Campuses:250 acres (1,000,000 m2)[2] |
| Colours | Saffron[3] |
| Website | mu |
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University of Mumbai is apublicstate university inMumbai. It is one of thelargest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges.[4][5] As of 2013[update], the university had 711 affiliated colleges.[6]
It was established in 1857 followinga dispatch fromSir Charles Wood,President of the Board of Control, toGovernor-GeneralLord Dalhousie. There are courses available covering science, commerce and the arts.
Wood's despatch, drafted bySir Charles Wood in 1854, advocated a range of educational reforms in India, including the establishment of universities in major Indian cities.[7] As such, the University of Bombay was established in 1857 after the presentation of a petition from the Bombay Association to the imperial Government of India.[8] The university was modelled on similar universities in theUnited Kingdom, specifically theUniversity of London.[8]: 188
The first departments established were the Faculty of Arts atElphinstone College in 1835 and the Faculty of Medicine atGrant Medical College in 1845.[8] Both colleges existed before the university was founded and surrendered their degree-granting privileges to the university. The first degrees awarded in 1862 wereBachelor of Arts andLicentiate in Medicine.[8] Medical schools such as Sindh Medical School inHyderabad, Sindh were affiliated with the university as well.[citation needed]
Cornelia Sorabji, who later studied law atSomerville College becomingOxford's first female law student and India's first femaleadvocate, was the university's first female graduate in 1888.[9][10]
Until 1904, the university only conducted examinations, awarded affiliations to colleges, developed curricula, and produced guidelines for colleges developing curricula.[8] Teaching departments, research disciplines, and post-graduate courses were introduced from 1904, and several additional departments were established. After India achieved independence in 1947, the functions and powers of the university were reorganized under The Bombay University Act of 1953.[11] The name of the university was changed from University of Bombay to University of Mumbai in 1996.[12]
In 1949, student enrolment was 42,272 with 80 affiliated colleges. By 1975, these numbers had grown to 156,190 and 114 respectively.[8]
Examination processes were made more efficient by the introduction of online delivery of question papers for examinations, and assessment of answer books by scanning at remote examination centres. The academic depository of the university was started in collaboration with CDSL in 2015. The university is the first university in the country to start an academic depository.[13]
One of Mumbai's landmarks, theRajabai Clock Tower, was completed in the 1870s and houses the University of Mumbai's library. SirGeorge Gilbert Scott modeled the Rajabai Clock Tower on the clock tower of thePalace of Westminster inLondon.[17] Local businessmanPremchand Roychand contributed to the cost of construction and named the tower in memory of his mother, Rajabai. The tower is 85 m (280 ft) tall and has five storeys. At a height of 9.1 m (30 ft) from the ground, there are eight statues representing the Indian castes. The tower clock is reported to have played 16 tunes including "Rule Britannia", "God Save the Queen", "Home! Sweet Home!" and "A Handel Symphony".[18] On the initiative of the then Vice-Chancellor, Rajan Welukar, the first phase of restoration of Rajabai Clock Tower started in 2013 and was completed in May 2015. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) gave a Rs 4 crore grant for this phase of the restoration project.[19]
Its jurisdiction extends over 7 districts -Mumbai City district,Mumbai Suburban district,Palghar district,Raigad district,Ratnagiri district,Sindhudurg district,Thane district.[20][21]
Several departments of the University of Mumbai are a part of vocational institutions and are not located on the four Mumbai campuses. These include the departments of Medicine and Medical Research located in many prominent hospitals in Mumbai, such as theTata Memorial Hospital,Bombay Hospital andG.S. Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital. The Department of Medicine atTata Memorial Hospital is now[when?] affiliated with theHomi Bhabha National Institute.
Institute of Chemical Technology (then known as the University Department of Chemical Technology, UDCT), was originally a department of MU, which later gained the status of a university.[22][independent source needed]
Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, then known as the Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, founded in 1887, was the first Engineering Institute of the University of Mumbai.[23]Thadomal Shahani Engineering College was the first Engineering college in the University of Mumbai to start courses inComputer Engineering,Information Technology,Electronics Engineering andBiomedical Engineering.[citation needed]
Jawaharlal Nehru Library (JNL) is the central library, located on the campus at Kalina. By May 2019, it was desperately in need of restoration, and it was said to have been in a dire state for the prior two years.[24]
| University and college rankings | |
|---|---|
| General – international | |
| QS (World) (2025)[26] | 711-720 |
| Times (World) (2023)[27] | 1201–1500 |
| Times (Asia) (2022)[28] | 351–400 |
| Times (Emerging) (2022)[29] | 351–400 |
| General – India | |
| NIRF (Overall) (2023)[30] | 96 |
| NIRF (Universities) (2024)[31] | 61 |
Internationally, the University of Mumbai was ranked 751-760 in theQS World University Rankings of 2024[32] and 291–300 in Asia.[33] It was ranked 1201–1500 in the world by theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings of 2023,[27] 351–400 in Asia in 2022[28] and in the same band among emerging economies.[29]
TheNational Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked it 61st among universities in India in 2024.[34] It also ranked 96th overall in 2023.[30]
Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed withUniversity of Amsterdam,University of Bath,Liverpool Hope University,Toronto Metropolitan University,IESEG School of Management,Tianjin University of Technology,Tianjin University,Nankai University inChina andEdith Cowan University in Australia.[35] Oxford University
