 | |
| Motto | Excellence since 1817 |
|---|---|
| Type | PublicState University |
| Established | c. 1817; 208 years ago (1817) |
| Accreditation | NAAC |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | ₹65.69 crore (US$7.8 million) (FY2023–24 est.)[1] |
| Chancellor | Governor of West Bengal |
| Vice-Chancellor | Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty[2] |
Academic staff | 212(2025)[1] |
| Students | 3,061(2025)[1] |
| Undergraduates | 1,554(2025)[1] |
| Postgraduates | 1,032(2025)[1] |
| 475(2025)[1] | |
| Location | ,, India 22°34′35″N88°21′44″E / 22.57639°N 88.36222°E /22.57639; 88.36222 |
| Campus | College Street |
| Other campuses | |
| Website | www |
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Presidency University, formerlyPresidency College,[3] is apublicstate university located inCollege Street,Kolkata. Established in 1817 as theHindoo College, it was later renamedPresidency College in 1855 and functioned as a leading constituent college under theUniversity of Calcutta. It is widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious places of higher education in India.Alumni of Presidency University include two Nobel laureates, leaders of theIndian Independence Movement, heads of state,Academy Award winners and pioneers in Bengali art and literature playing a pivotal role in shaping modernIndian andBengal education and intellectual discourse.
In its first cycle as a university, Presidency received "A" grade with a score of 3.04/4.00 by theNational Assessment and Accreditation Commission.[4] It has been recognized as aUniversity of National Eminence by theUniversity Grants Commission.[5] It was awarded an "A" grade by theNational Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in June 2024. The university received a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.13 out of 4, which is valid for five years.[6]
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With the creation of the Supreme Court of Calcutta in 1773 manyHindus ofBengal showed an eager interest in learning the English language.David Hare, in collaboration withRajaRadhakanta Deb had already taken steps to introduce English language education in Bengal. Babu Buddinath Mukherjee advanced the introduction of English as a medium of instruction further by enlisting the support of SirEdward Hyde East,Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Fort William, who called a meeting of 'European and Hindu Gentlemen' at his house in May 1816.[7] The purpose of the meeting was to "discuss the proposal to establish an institution for giving a liberal education to the children of the members of the Hindu Community". The proposal was received with unanimous approbation and a donation of over Rs. 100,000 was promised for setting up the new college. The 5 Babus who contributed the most in setting up the college with their donations were - RajaGopi Mohun Deb ofShovabazar Raj, Maharaja Tej Chandra ofBardhaman Raj, RajaGopi Mohan Tagore ofPathuriaghata, Babu Joy Krishna Singha ofJorasanko, and Babu Ganga Narayan Das.Raja Ram Mohan Roy showed full support for the scheme, but chose not to come out in support of the proposal publicly for fear of "alarming the prejudices of his orthodox countrymen and thus marring the whole idea". Other eminent personalities ofCalcutta at that time, such asRani Rashmoni,Prince Dwarkanath Tagore,Babu Rajchandra Das andMutty Lall Seal also donated hefty amounts towards the foundation of the College.[8]
At first, the classes were held at Gorachand Bysack house called Garanhatta (later renamed 304, Chitpore Road), which was rented by the college. In January 1818 the college moved to 'Feringhi Kamal Bose's house in Chitpore.[9] From Chitpore, the college moved toBowbazar and later to the building that now houses theSanskrit College onCollege Street.[10]
On 19 March 2010, theGovernment of West Bengal passed the Presidency University Bill, 2009 in the State Legislative Assembly.[11] On 7 July 2010, the thenGovernor of West Bengal,M. K. Narayanan gave his assent to the Presidency University Bill.[12] On 23 July 2010, the Government of West Bengal published the gazette notification completing all the legal formalities for presidency to become a full university.[13]Amiya Bagchi was given the responsibility of chairing a committee set up to select and appoint the first vice-chancellor of the university.Amita Chatterjee, a retired professor of philosophy atJadavpur University, was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of Presidency University on 5 October 2010.[14]
In 2011, Higher Education MinisterBratya Basu suggested that a mentor group, along the lines of the Nalanda mentor group, would be formed to oversee the work of the university. At the beginning of June 2011, the Chief Minister of West Bengal,Mamata Banerjee, announced that a committee would be formed withAmartya Sen as its chief mentor and Harvard-basedSugata Bose as its chairman to oversee the running of the college and perform the task of appointing all its officials and faculty members. The Presidency mentor group[15] also includes as its members 2019 EconomicsNobel Prize winnerAbhijit Banerjee,Ashoke Sen, Sabyasachi Bhattacharya,Nayanjot Lahiri,Himadri Pakrashi,Rahul Mukerjee andIsher Judge Ahluwalia,Swapan Kumar Chakravorty.Sukanta Chaudhuri resigned from the committee in 2012.[16]
The entrance of the campus is marked with a small guardhouse on the left. On the wall of the guard room is a plaque dedicated to durwan (guard) Ram Eqbal Singh, who died defending the institute from rioters.[17] The university held its bicentenary celebrations in 2017.[18][19][20]
The New Town campus of Presidency University is located in Kolkata, near theBiswa Bangla Convention Centre, The campus spans 10 acres with two 14-storey towers, the campus was inaugurated in February 2019 by theChief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, and classes likely began in July 2019. It was built at a cost of Rs 183 crore over two years, reflecting a significant investment in educational infrastructure. The campus houses five advanced study centers, enhancing its research and academic offerings School ofBiotechnology (integrated with School of Crop Technology), School of Astrophysics, School of Earth Sciences, School of Public Policy, School of Data Informatics,Cyber Security, andBig Data.[21]
Like everystate university inWest Bengal, Presidency University is headed by thechancellor, who is theGovernor of West Bengal.[22] The vice-chancellor is the academic and administrative head of the institution. The post of the vice-chancellor replaced that of the principal after Presidency College received university status.Professor Anuradha Lohia was the first permanent vice-chancellor of the institution.[23] The currentRegistrar of the university is Dr. Debajyoti Konar.[24]
The Controller of Examinations, the Chief Librarian, the Finance officer and the Dean of students, along with the Dean of Arts and the Dean of Sciences, are the other important office holders of the university.[25] The university is guided by a mentor group. The Mentor Group is chaired bySugata Bose, theGardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs atHarvard University. Nobel Laureate andeconomistAmartya Sen serves as the Advisor to the chair.[26][27]
List of Principals |
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Principals of Presidency College[edit]
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In academics, the university consists of two faculties – the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Both Faculties are headed bydeans. A total of 16 departments function under the university. They are:Bengali,English,Hindi,History,Performing Arts,Philosophy,Political Science,Sociology, Life Sciences,Chemistry,Economics,Geography,Geology,Mathematics,Physics andStatistics.[25][28]
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| Amita Chatterjee | 2010–2011 |
|---|---|
| Malabika Sarkar | 2011–2014 |
| Anuradha Lohia | 2014–2023 |
| Subhro Kamal Mukherjee(acting) | 2023–2024 |
| Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty | 2024–Incumbent |
During its tenure as a college, formal national ranking systems like theNational Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) were not in place. However different news outlets rankedPresidency college as one of the leading institutes forhumanities andnatural sciences.
| Ranking years | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 2nd[29] | 2nd[29] | - | - | 3rd[29] | 2nd[29] | - | 3rd[29] | 4th[29] | 8th[29] | 3rd[29] | 5th[29] | 3rd[29] |
| Humanities | 2nd[30] | 2nd[31] | - | 1st[32] | - | - | - | - | 2nd[33] | 6th[34] | 4th[35] | 7th[36] | 6th[37] |
Presidency University, Kolkata was in the inaugural list of the top 50 institutions in theNational Institutional Ranking Framework(NIRF) in 2016.[38] In 2025, the university was ranked 124 in Asian University Rankings - Southern Asia.[39] The university was ranked 151-200 overall in India by theNIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) in 2024.[40]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| General – India | |
| NIRF (Overall) (2024)[41] | 151-200 |
Alumni of Presidency University include twoNobel Laureates in Economics, leaders of theIndian Independence Movement, heads of state, Academy Award winners, academicians and pioneers inBengali renaissance.
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