The University of Delhi 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 and the President of India is the Visitor of the University. 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, (then known as The Delhi College), founded in 1792 Ramjas College, founded in 1917
All of the above colleges were subsequently affiliated with the university. The university initially had two faculties (Arts and Science) and approximately 750 students.
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 (114,494 undergraduates and 17,941 postgraduates). There are 261,169 students in non-formal education programmes (258,831 undergraduates and 2,338 postgraduates). 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 (Common University Entrance Test). 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 (DUSU) 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.
Campuses
Main campuses with constituent colleges
North Campus, the oldest campus, and South Campus, serve as the two main campuses of the university, though constituent colleges are clustered in five campuses directionally-named to correspond to the geography of Delhi (see also the list of districts of Delhi).
North Campus northwest of Northern Delhi Ridge: the main hub hosts the three founding colleges (co-ed Hindu College, co-ed St. Stephen's College, and women-only Miranda House College) and major administrative offices including vice-chancellor's office and residence at historic Viceregal Lodge.
South Campus south of Central Delhi Ridge: Established in 1973 to facilitate the growing needs of the city, this campus houses various postgraduate departments and renowned colleges like Lady Shri Ram College, Jesus and Mary College, Sri Aurobindo College and Sri Venkateswara College. It moved to its present location on Benito Juarez Marg, near Dhaula Kuan, in 1984, and covers 69 acres.
Central Campus in core New Delhi in Central Delhi district: includes Lady Irwin College at Mandi House, Zakir Husain Delhi College at Ajmeri Gate, Mata Sundri College for Women, Maulana Azad Medical College.
East Campus in trans-Yamuna East Delhi district: Includes colleges located in the eastern regions of Delhi, such as Maharaja Agrasen College and Vivekananda College.
West Campus in West Delhi district: Comprises institutions in the western parts of the city, including Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences at Dwarka, and Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at Janakpuri. In 2025, new Rs 107 crore 15.25 acre academic block at Dwarka and a new Veer Savarkar College costing Rs 140 crore in Najafgarh were under construction. DU undergoes Rs 1912 infra, newindianexpress.com, 15 October 2025.
Colleges
There are 91 colleges affiliated to the University of Delhi, spread across Delhi. Zakir Husain Delhi College, in the central Delhi, is the oldest college in Delhi. In the University of Delhi, the primary distinction between constituent and affiliated colleges lies in their legal governance and financial backing. While constituent colleges were traditionally the only ones offering postgraduate courses, today the distinction has largely blurred for students because both types follow the same Common University Entrance Test (CUET) test-based admissions, centralized DU curriculum, and common examination system.
Constituent colleges are integral parts of the university's "body corporate" and are typically fully funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or the university itself, meaning their staff salaries and infrastructure costs are directly managed through central university channels. Affiliated colleges are often established by private trusts or the Government of Delhi, which provides their primary funding (sometimes 100% or a 95% grant-in-aid model), though they remain "admitted to the privileges" of the university for academic purposes.
Hostels
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. As of 2021, only 20 colleges of Delhi University provided hostel facilities to students. In 2025, plans were unveiled to expand Geetanjali Girls Hostel in South Campus at the cost of Rs 11.23 crore, and the construction of the new gender-inclusive 9 storey Institution of Eminence Hostel for 1,436 students at Dhaka in North Campus costing Rs 332.83 crore.
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 colleges maintained by universities get 100% deficit maintenance grants while the colleges run by trusts get 95% deficit grants.
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.