Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences

Motto	"Serve The Land . Feed The Hungry"
Type	Government aidedresearch university
Established	1910; 116 years ago (1910)
Chancellor	Jetti A. Oliver[1]
Vice-Chancellor	Rajendra B. Lal[1]
Academic staff	454[2]
Students	12331[2]
Undergraduates	8068[2]
Postgraduates	4263[2]
Location	Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India 25°24′49″N81°50′57″E / 25.4137°N 81.8491°E /25.4137; 81.8491
Campus	1,020 acres (4,100,000 m2) Sub-Urban
Colors	Red, green and yellow
Affiliations	ICAR,UGC,ACU[3]AIU[4]IAU[5]IAUA[6]
Website	shuats.edu.in

Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), formerlyAllahabad Agricultural Institute, is a government-aided university inPrayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India.^[7][2] It operates as an autonomous Christian minority institution under the 'Sam Higginbottom Educational and Charitable Society, Allahabad'.^[8][9][10]

It was established in 1910 bySam Higginbottom as "Allahabad Agricultural Institute" to improve the economic status of the rural population.^[11][12] In 1942, it became the first institute in India to offer a degree inAgricultural Engineering.^[13][14]

In December 2016, the Uttar Pradesh State cabinet announced their decision to elevate the institution from the status of Deemed University to full-fledged University by passing the SHUATS Act operational from 29 December 2016, thus renaming it to SHUATS.^[15]

As a tribute to its founder, the institution submitted a proposal to theMinistry of Human Resource Development in 2009 to rename Allahabad Agricultural Institute as Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences.^[16] The institute was conferreddeemed university status on 15 March 2000^[17] and was certified as aChristian Minority Educational Institution in December 2005.^[18][16][19] Earlier theMHRD placed SHUATS among the elite category 'A'deemed universities on the basis of the expert committee recommendation.^[20]

The academic infrastructure of the university is organized into six Faculties^[21]—Agriculture; Engineering and Technology; Science; Theology; Management, Humanities and Social Sciences; and Health Sciences—which consist of 15 constituent schools, over 60 academic departments and four advanced research centres with emphasis on scientific, agricultural, technological education and research.^[2][22][23] The university is an alma mater to many notablescientists,geneticist,agricultural engineers^[24][25][26] and often regarded as the progenitor ofGreen Revolution in India.^{[27][28][29][30]}

While having completed its own hospital, Hayes Memorial Mission Hospital, the university is developing its health and medical science infrastructure as perMedical Council of India (MCI) norms.^[31]

SHUATS is a recognized member ofAssociation of Indian Universities,^[32]Association of Commonwealth Universities,^[33]Indian Agricultural Universities Association^[34] andInternational Association of Universities.^[35] The university has been re-accredited with aCGPA of 3.14 on a four-point scale and has received an 'A' grade from theNational Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), valid till October 2018.^[36] SHUATS was accredited in 2009 byIndian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and in 2010 byIndian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).^[9][37]

The institute was established by Dr.Sam Higginbottom, an English-bornPresbyterian missionary in 1910 as the Department of Agricultural Economics and an Extension ofEwing Christian College,Allahabad.^[38][39] The institute was declared as a separate entity from the college in 1918.^[40] The Department of Animal Husbandry was the first department of the institute established in 1924. It was an important landmark in the history of dairy training in India as the admission to the first batch of Indian Diploma in Dairying (IDD) was conducted here.^[41] After a meeting in Benaras, Dr. Higginbottom andMahatma Gandhi became friends and started exchanging letters on issues such as agriculture, poverty alleviation and rural economy. Gandhiji visited the institute in 1929 and sought his advice on several occasions.^[42] In the 1930s, the institute was supported byHarvard-Yenching Institute to expand its teaching and research programme in agricultural sciences.^[43][44] About the same time the institute was recognized by the government for a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture science and became affiliated with theUniversity of Allahabad. Another landmark came in 1942, when it became the pioneer institute to offer anAgricultural Engineering degree in India. In November 1947, the institute was brought under an independent "Board of Directors of the Allahabad Agricultural Institute" which was sponsored as an ecumenical body by a number of churches and missions. During this phase the institute was taken up byArthur T. Mosher, and he is largely credited with major expansion of infrastructure and the introduction of famous "Jamuna Par Punar Yojna", theextension project of recruiting workers at the village level.^[45][46]

Between 1950 and 1957Albert Mayer, an American architect, was assigned for developing the major buildings of the institute.^[47][48] In 1951, theFord Foundation granted $940,000 to the institute for carrying out the research and development projects.^[49][50] In 1952, theUniversity of Illinois signed a contract with theUnited States Agency for International Development for assisting the institute in improving its educational programs.^[51] Between 1950 and 1980,John B. Chitamber led the institute successfully and madeAgricultural extension a very well known programme of the institute.^{[52][53][54][55]} To obtain more academic freedom and to strengthen its research and extension programmes, a proposal was submitted to the Department of Higher Education,Ministry of Human Resource Development in August 1994, that the institute be granted the status of adeemed university. The institute was conferred the same on 15 March 2000 and Dr. Rajendra B. Lal was appointed as the firstvice-chancellor of the university.^[16][56]

The campus is inNaini, a satellite neighbourhood ofPrayagraj on the banks of riverYamuna. The university is spread over an area of 1020 acres lush-green campus, which includes 420 acres of research farms.^[57] The campus is divided into clusters of constituent schools and separate blocks for administration. The academic area chiefly comprises the main building, departmental annexes and auditoria. The university has 12 hostels on campus, six women's, four men's and two international hostels.^[21]

The campus has an open-air theatre for cultural events. Severalfootball,hockey andcricket grounds; andtennis,basketball,squash andvolleyball courts are built on campus. The university has aprimary school,middle school and twointer colleges housed in independent buildings, to meet the education requirements of the children of employees and of neighbouring area. The campus houses a shopping complex, several cafeterias, restaurants, ATMs, post office, a centre ofKrishi Vigyan Kendra and a branch of theState Bank of India.^[58]

SHUATS is a multi-faculty residential academic institution. The university offers 51 undergraduate programmes, 123 postgraduate programmes, 20 diploma/certificate programmes and doctoral programmes with over 10,000 students enrolled on campus.^[59][21][60]

The university provides an ample infrastructure for interdisciplinary collaborative research and interaction between students and faculty. The major research areas includeagronomy,mechanised agriculture,food processing,silviculture,genetic engineering,pharmacology,plant pathology,applied microbiology andcomputational biology.^{[67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75]} The research activities are funded through extramural research grants from government agencies such asICAR,DBT,NRSC,DST,MHRD,MRD,UPCAR,EU andUSDA.^{[76][77][78][79]}

The Allahabad Farmer is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal of the university which has been publishing research articles in basic and applied aspects of agriculture technology and sciences.^[80][81] First published in 1925, it is perhaps one of the oldest journal dedicated to agricultural research.^[82][83] The university has been a collaborating partner ofGlobal Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR), headquartered inRome, Italy for research infood security,climate change andagricultural education.^[84]

The university is currently hosting over 350^[85] international students fromAustralia,Brazil,Japan,South Korea,Guyana,Thailand,Middle East, neighbouringSouth Asian and severalAfrican nations.^{[86][87][88][89][90]} SHUATS has signedMoUs with more than 20 international organizations for academics and research including,Maastricht University,University of Copenhagen,University of Queensland,Biola University,Alabama A&M University,Hannam University, andUniversity of Twente among others.^[91] The university has been in collaboration with a Thailand-basedAsian Institute of Technology for academic-exchange programme since 2011.^[92][93] In 2015, SHUATS collaborated withUniversity of Missouri and has established a nanotechnology research centre to explore the potential ofgreen nanotechnology on agricultural economy.^[94][95][96] In 2022, the university teams up with theInternational Rice Research Institute for drought resistance breeding programme.^[97]

The university has established a Career Planning & Counselling Centre (CPCC). The CPCC invites companies for campus recruitment and placement assistance. Besides, the centre facilitates entrepreneurial and soft skills training, summer internships, career counselling and other personality development programs to the students.^[98] Some of the major recruiters of the university areInfosys,Larsen & Toubro,HCL,Wipro,Amdocs,ThoughtWorks,Union Bank of India,Hindustan Construction Company,ITC Limited,Amul,Mother Dairy,Nestlé,Parle,Sonalika International,Bayer Crop Science,John Deere,TAFE,Escorts Tractors,Mahindra & Mahindra Limited,Force Motors,Jain Irrigation,IFFCO,Chambal Fertilisers,BASF,KRIBHCO,SABMiller,Cordlife,GlaxoSmithKline,Thyrocare andLupin Limited.^{[99][100][101][102]}

Extra-curricular activities such as sporting events, festivals, and cultural functions are organized throughout the year.^{[103][104][105][106][107]} The students are divided into four houses,Red Eagles,Blue Bulls,Yellow Tigers andPink Panthers for inter-house games and sports tournaments. The athletics committee is formed to govern the activities under the Department of Physical Education.^[108] A student-runcommunity radio station, Radio Adan (90.4  MHz) brings together experts, students, farmers, and the local population, through various popular programs, focussing on agriculture, education, employment, women empowerment, child marriage, health, and culture.^[109] The academic societies^[110] and cultural clubs^[111] on the campus organize national and international competitions, symposiums,^[112][113] conferences^[114] and workshops.^{[115][116][117][118]} Students are encouraged to join theNational Cadet Corps or enrol inNational Service Scheme for overall personality development.^[119][120]

The students, alumni, and faculty members of the university are traditionally referred as "Aggies." The university has an active alumni association, governed by an executive committee with the objective of expanding and strengthening the connections between alumni and alma mater.^[122][123] An international alumni association,Alagin International, started in the year 2002, has been organizing annual meetings in various cities and also connects Aggies through social media.^[124]

SHUATS is ranked 292 in Asian University Rankings in 2025.^[127] It is ranked 85th in India by theNIRF in the pharmacy category in 2024.^[128]

SHUATS has a widespread alumni network of agriculturists, life scientists and agricultural engineers taking over many prestigious positions across the world.^{[129][130][131]} Some of the prominent people associated with the university include agricultural scientists,Rajiv Khosla,^[132]Pramod Ramteke,^[133][134]Arthur T. Mosher^[135] andMason Vaugh,^[136] independence activists,Titus Theverthundiyil^[137] andSeth Achal Singh,^[138] educationists and scholars,Valson Thampu^[139] andJohn B. Chitamber,^[140] sportsperson,Yash Dayal,^[141] politicians,Anil Agrawal,^[142]Jitendra Prasada,^[143]Fateh Bahadur Singh,^[144]Amarnath Pradhan,^[145] andSasmit Patra,^[146] theologists and administrators,K. Reuben Mark,^[147]Vishal Mangalwadi^[148] andJohn Lawrence Goheen,^[149] sociologists,Charlotte Viall Wiser^[150] andWilliam H. Wiser^[150] among others.

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