சென்னைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம் | |
 | |
Other name | Cheṉṉai palkalaikalhagam |
|---|---|
| Motto | Doctrina Vim Promovet Insitam (Latin) "கற்றனைத்தூறும் அறிவும் ஆற்றலும்" (Tamil) |
Motto in English | "Learning Promotes Natural Talent" |
| Type | State university |
| Established | 5 September 1857; 168 years ago (5 September 1857) |
| Chancellor | Governor of Tamil Nadu |
| Vice-Chancellor | Vacant |
Academic staff | 345[1] |
| Students | 4,819[1] |
| Postgraduates | 3,239[1] |
| 1,099[1] | |
| Location | Chennai (Madras) ,,13°3′58″N80°16′58″E / 13.06611°N 80.28278°E /13.06611; 80.28278 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colours | Cardinal |
| Nickname | Madras Tigers |
| Affiliations | UGC,NAAC,AIU,ACU |
| Mascot | Tiger |
| Website | unom |
 | |
TheUniversity of Madras is apublicstate university inChennai (Madras),Tamil Nadu, India.[2] Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an act of theLegislative Council of India under theBritish government.[3]
The university is the alma mater offive Presidents of India, includingA. P. J. Abdul Kalam;three Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of India; two Indian physicsNobel laureates,CV Raman andSubrahmanyan Chandrasekhar; several notable mathematicians includingSrinivasa Ramanujan andAbel Prize winnerS. R. Srinivasa Varadhan; andTuring Award winnerRaj Reddy among others.[4]
The University of Madras is acollegiateresearch university and has six campuses in the city:Chepauk,Marina,Guindy,Taramani,Maduravoyal andChetpet. It offers more than 230 courses under 87 academic departments of post-graduate teaching and research grouped under 18 schools, covering diverse areas such as sciences, social sciences, humanities, management and medicine along with 121 affiliated colleges and 53 approved research institutions. The university houses national centres for advanced research innanotechnology,[5]photonics[6] andneurotoxicity.[7] In addition, it has threeCentres of Advanced Study inbiophysics,[8]botany[9] and theRamanujan Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics.[10]
TheNational Assessment and Accreditation Council has conferred 'five star' accreditation to the university in the first cycle, and subsequently with its highest A++ grade.[11] The University of Madras has been given the status of "university with potential for excellence (UPE)" by theUniversity Grants Commission.[12] Madras University is also recognized among the 18 universities in India having the 'Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area (CPEPA)' with a focus ondrug development andclimate change.[13]
| Vice Chancellors[14] |
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The first-ever demand for higher education inMadras Presidency was given in a public address toLord John Elphinstone, governor of Madras, signed by 70,000 residents when theGovernor-in-Council was contemplating "some effective and liberal measures for the establishment of an improved system of national education". This public petition, which was presented by the Advocate General Mr George Norton on 11 November 1839, pressed the need for an English college in the city of Madras. Pursuant to this, Lord Elphinstone evolved a plan for the establishment of a central collegiate institution or a "university". This university had twin departments – a high school for the cultivation of English literature, regional language, philosophy and science, and a college for instruction in the higher branches of literature, philosophy and science.[16][17]
The University Board was constituted in January 1840 with Mr George Norton as its president. This was the precursor of the presentPresidency College, Chennai. A systematic educational policy for India was formulated 14 years later byWood's despatch, which pointed out the rationale for "creating a properly articulated system of education from the primary school to the University." The dispatch recommended the establishment in the universities of professorships "for the purposes of the delivery of lectures in various branches of learning including vernacular as well as classical languages". As a result, the University of Madras, organised on the model of the University of London, was incorporated on 5 September 1857 by an act of theLegislative Council of India.[18]
The university progressed and expanded through the 19th century to span the whole ofSouth India, giving birth to universities likeMysore University (1916),Osmania University (1918),Andhra University (1926),Annamalai University (1929),Travancore University (1937) presentlyUniversity of Kerala,Sri Venkateswara University (1954),Madurai Kamaraj University (1966),Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (1971),Anna University (1978),Tamil University (1981),Bharathidasan University (1982),Bharathiar University (1982),Mother Teresa Women's University (1984),Alagappa University (1985),Dr. M.G.R. Medical University (1989),Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (1989),Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (1990),Periyar University (1997),Dr. Ambedkar Law University (1996) andThiruvalluvar University (2002).[19]
In 1912 endowments were made to the university to establish departments of Indian History, Archaeology, Comparative Philology and Indian Economics. In that year the university had 17 departments, 30 teachers, and 69 research scholars. Later the research and teaching functions of the university were encouraged by theSadler Commission and the gains of the university were consolidated by the enactment of the Madras University Act of 1923. About this time, the territorial ambit of the Madras University encompassed fromBerhampur of Odisha in the North East,Trivandrum of Kerala in the South West,Bangalore andMangalore of Karnataka in the West andHyderabad of Andhra Pradesh in the North.[20]
Between 1926 and 1939, the university published the comprehensiveTamil Lexicon dictionary, which is the first among the dictionaries published in any Indian language.[21]
The description of thecoat of arms of the university, designed in 1857, is:
"Argent(silver or white) on a Mount issuant from the basement a Tiger passant proper(walking and coloured naturally), on a Chief Sable(black across the top), a Pale Or(a gold or yellow vertical strip down the centre 1/3 of the top or chief), thereon, between two Elephants heads couped of the field, a lotus flower leaved and slipped of the third, together with this mottoDoctrina Vim Promovet Insitam".
The coat of arms colours are: the base is light green, the tiger is yellow on a white background, the elephant is grey on a black background, the lotus is a white flower with olive green leaves, on a gold background. The motto scroll is edged red, with black lettering. The English translation of the motto of the University of Madras is: "Learning promotes natural talent."[22]
The university has six campuses:Chepauk,Marina,Guindy,Taramani,Chetpet andMaduravoyal. The Chepauk campus of the university houses the administrative buildings, the historicSenate House, central library, clock tower, centenary auditorium, and several departments under arts, humanities and social science streams. The schools of oriental and Indian are located at the Marina campus. The Guindy campus incorporates the natural sciences departments while the campus at Taramani houses the school of basic medical sciences. The sports union and the botanical garden are based on Chetpet and Maduravoyal campuses respectively. The Department of Mathematics of the university is operated as theRamanujan Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics located close to the Chepauk campus.[23] The university has twoconstituent college, inNemmeli andThiruvottiyur, offerings courses in arts and science.[24] Since 1981, the university has also developed anInstitute of Distance Education, offering various academic and professional programmes approved byUniversity Grants Commission under the choice-based credit system (CBCS) pattern.[25]
The University of Madras has a historical monument –Senate House – which is one of the landmarks of the city of Chennai.[26] The Senate House, the university's first building, inaugurated in the year 1879, is considered a masterpiece ofRobert Fellowes Chisholm, an architect of the 19th century, who blended the Indo-Saracenic style with Byzantine and European architectural features.[27] The university renovated the Senate House in 2006.[28]
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The organisational structure of Madras University consists of the Senate, the Syndicate, the Academic Council, the faculties, the Finance Committee, and the boards of studies. TheGovernor of Tamil Nadu is the chancellor of the university. The vice chancellor is the executive head of the university. The registrar of the university, who is the secretary of the Syndicate, is the custodian of all the records and chief administrator of the university. The examinations of the university is managed by Office of the Controller of Examinations.[29]
University of Madras is organized into eighteen main schools, each of which comprises multiple departments and centres as below:[30]
| Faculties | Departments / Institutes / Chairs | Campus Location |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science |
| Chepauk and Guindy |
| Chemistry |
| Guindy |
| Physics |
| Guindy |
| Nano Science and Photonics |
| Guindy and Taramani |
| Earth and Atmospheric Science |
| Guindy |
| Life Sciences |
| Guindy |
| Basic Medical Sciences |
| Taramani |
| Economics |
| Chepauk |
| Philosophy and Religious Studies |
| Chepauk and Marina |
| Historical Studies |
| Chepauk |
| Social Sciences |
| Chepauk |
| Political and International Studies |
| Chepauk |
| Information and Communication Studies |
| Chepauk |
| Fine and Performing Arts |
| Chepauk |
| English and Foreign Languages |
| Chepauk |
| Tamil and other Dravidian Languages |
| Marina |
| Sanskrit and other Indian Languages |
| Marina |
| Business and Management |
| Chepauk |
| Physical Education and Sports |
| Chetpet |
The university currently has 121 affiliated colleges, with 3 approved institutions, 5 institutions for diploma and certificate courses, 15 stand alone institutions for professional education, and 53 approved research Institutions as of 2019.[31]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| QS World[32] | 526 (2024) |
| Global – Science and engineering | |
| QS Chemistry[33] | 401-450 (2025) |
| Regional – Overall | |
| QS Asia[34] | 251-269 (2023) |
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| General – India | |
| NIRF (Universities) (2024)[35] | 39 |
| Outlook India (Universities) (2020)[36] | 20 |
| Business/Management – India | |
| Government colleges: | |
| Outlook India (2022)[37] | 20 |
Internationally, Madras University is ranked 526 overall and 51st global research institution in theQS World University Rankings for the year 2024.[38][39] In India, theNational Institutional Ranking Framework ranked it 39th among universities in 2024.[40] It was ranked 20th in theOutlook-ICARE university ranking of 2020.[41]
The library system of the university consists of four central libraries located at its Chepauk, Marina, Guindy and Taramani campus.[42] Besides, many of the departments and centres have their own library collections. The main university library located at Chepauk was started in 1907 in theConnemara Public Library, later shifted to the existing building in 1936.S. R. Ranganathan (a mathematician) was appointed as the first librarian of the university, whose contribution in the development of the field oflibrary sciences is noteworthy.[43] The library collection includes textbooks, reference books, journals, theses, archives of government gazettes, newsprints, magazines, photographs, rare manuscripts, with a total collection of approximately 1 million volumes, which is among the largest collection of a university library in India.[44][45] The library system also maintains a database of e-books, digital multimedia resources and subscribed to over four thousand e-journals under the UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium.[46] TheGovernment of Tamil Nadu oriental manuscripts library and research centre is located within the main library building at Chepauk.[47] The library is considered as the treasure house for ancient Indian knowledge. Comprises over 25,373 reference books and 72,714 Sanskrit and Tamil manuscripts written on palm leaf, copper plates, tree barks, leather etc. on subjects, like mathematics, astronomy, ayurveda, architecture, fine arts, grammar and literature.[48] The Library of theIndian Mathematical Society, started in 1907 in Pune, is now housed in the campus of theRamanujan Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics.[49]
In 2007, the university was given a special grant of₹100 crores by theMinistry of Human Resource Development to establish a nanotechnology research centre in commemoration of itssesqui-centenary (150th year) celebration. In 2011,University Grants Commission (UGC) selected the university for its third phase ofUniversity with Potential for Excellence (UPE) scheme, under which₹25 crores were sanctioned for a period of five years.[50] Earlier, the university was selected for the inaugural phase of the scheme in 2001-02 along withJNU,Hyderabad University,Jadavpur University andPune University.[51] TheNational Centre for Ultrafast Process (NCUFP) of the university has mobilized research grants to the tune₹7 crores through several funded projects including theDST,CSIR,DRDO andUGC.[52]
The Department of Crystallography and Biophysics was upgraded as aCentre of Advanced Study in 2007 and a grant of₹2.53 crores was given for modernising research laboratories. TheSchool of Life Sciences of the university received a grant of₹5.24 crores by theDepartment of Biotechnology, under BUILDER (Boost to University of Interdisciplinary Life Science Departments for Education and Research) for strengthening teaching and research programmes during 2014–2019.[24] A study performed by theNISTADS on the research performance of universities in India during 1998–2008 ranked Madras University at No. 5 based on publication for that period.[53]
In addition,UGC has identified the School of Earth Sciences and Department of Zoology as theCentres of Excellence and has allotted₹3.25 crores each for their development.[50] In 2019,Ministry of Human Resource Development of Government of India granted₹50 crores to the university for upgrading its research capabilities underRashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) scheme.[54]
Some prominent alumni include Nobel laureatesC. V. Raman[55] andS. Chandrasekhar,[56] mathematiciansSrinivasa Ramanujan[57]K. S. Chandrasekharan, andS. R. Srinivasa Varadhan,[58] leading scientists,Raja Ramanna,[59]Rajagopala Chidambaram,[60]M. Visvesvaraya,E. C. George Sudarshan,[61]G. N. Ramachandran,[62]Govindarajan Padmanaban,[63]V. S. Ramachandran[64] andAlladi Ramakrishnan[65] Former presidentsSarvepalli Radhakrishnan,V. V. Giri,Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy,R. Venkataraman andA.P.J. Abdul Kalam, politiciansChakravarthi Rajagopalachari,[66]C Subramaniam,[67]CN Annadurai,[68] andV. K. Krishna Menon,[69] civil servantsT. N. Seshan,[70]Benegal Rama Rau,[71]Y. Venugopal Reddy[72] andC. Sylendra Babu[73]Rhodes scholarsEric Prabhakar[74] andTanjore R. Anantharaman,[75] pioneersVerghese Kurien,[76]Raj Reddy[77] andM. S. Swaminathan,[78] economistK. N. Raj[79] andC. Rangarajan,[80] business personsIndra Nooyi,[81]Ram Shriram[82] andPrathap C. Reddy,[83] artists and film personalityM.G. Ramachandran,[84] curatorDeepa Subramanian,K. C. S. Paniker,[85]Gemini Ganesan,[86]Mani Ratnam[87] andMahesh Babu,[88] sports starsViswanathan Anand,Vijay Amritraj,[89]Ramanathan Krishnan[90] andSrinivas 'Venkat', and politicianKuniyil Kailashnathan[91] among others.
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After earning a master's degree in physics at Presidency College, University of Madras, in 1907, Raman became an accountant in the finance department of the Indian government
Chandra studied at Presidency College, University of Madras, and he wrote his first research paper
one of tha main
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