Anna University is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

state university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

located in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The main campus is in

Guindy Guindy is a neighborhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Kathipara junction where Anna Salai, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Inner Ring Road, 100 Feet Road or Jawaharlal Nehru Road, and GST Road meet here. It is one of the important nodal points of ...

. It was originally established on 4 September 1978 and is named after C. N. Annadurai, former

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian Federated state, state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governor (India), governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de ...

History and structure

Anna University (Chennai) comprises four colleges - the principal seat College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG, Guindy Campus), Alagappa College of Technology (ACT, Guindy Campus), Madras Institute of Technology (MIT, Chromepet Campus) and School of Architecture and Planning (SAP, Guindy Campus). The first version of Anna University was formed in 1978 and various governments changed the varsity's structure and affiliation scope repeatedly. In 2001, under the Anna University Amendment Act of 2001, the erstwhile Anna University became an affiliating university, taking under its wings all the engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu. This included six government engineering colleges, three government-aided private institutions, and 426 self-financed colleges. On 1 February 2007, as a result of a

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

decision, the university was split into six constituent universities: Anna University, Chennai; Anna University of Technology, Chennai; Anna University of Technology, Tiruchirappalli;

Anna University of Technology, Coimbatore Anna University Regional Campus, Coimbatore is a regional campus of Anna University. It offers full time UG and PG courses in university campus in Coimbatore along with more than 40 degree programmes through its Distance Education Arm Directora ...

; Anna University of Technology Tirunelveli and Anna University of Technology, Madurai. The institutes were formally created in 2010. On 14 September 2011 during period of Ex CM Jayalalithaa, a bill was passed to re-merge the universities. The merger was finalized in August 2012. In 2011 and 2012 the constituents colleges were merged back to a single affiliating university and the four regional universities continue to function as a regional campus of the university.

School of Architecture and Planning

The School of Architecture and Planning was established as a Department of Architecture of the

University of Madras The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

in 1957 and was located in the Alagappa College of Technology. The department was later renamed as the ''School of Architecture and Planning'' and shifted to its own independent campus in 1968. It became a constituent college of the University at its founding. It started to functions as two departments namely Department of Architecture and Department of Planning from 2005 till date. SAP has a Centre for Human Settlements (CHS) which is an autonomous Centre of the Anna University that was established in 1980. It is an interdisciplinary Centre offering Consultancy, Training, Research and Extension services in the areas related to Urban and Regional Planning, Development and Management. The Quality Improvement Program (QIP) Cell was established by the AICTE at SAP campus and has provided the research facilities for teachers of other architectural institutions besides providing admission to PG degree course.

Admissions

A common entrance test – the Tamil Nadu Professional Courses Entrance Examination (TNPCEE) – was used as a basis for admission to professional courses in the state until 2006. Starting in the academic year 2007–08, students were admitted to engineering colleges on the basis of their higher secondary marks. Post-graduate admission process is carried out through TANCET and

GATE A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...

scores.

Academics

The university offers courses in engineering and technology through its affiliated colleges and follows a dual semester system. Every year the university conducts examinations for the even semester in May–June and for an odd semester in November–December.

Rankings

Internationally, Anna University was ranked under 1000 in the ''

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

'' & ''

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

'' in 2023. In the 2024

National Institutional Ranking Framework National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a ranking methodology released annually by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The framework was approved by the former Ministr ...

, Anna University was ranked 20th overall and 13th among universities in India. Additionally, it secured the 14th position in the Engineering category and the 69th in the Management category.

Incidents

Sexual assault incident

On December 25, 2024, a second-year female

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

student at Anna University was sexually assaulted by two men inside the campus. The incident took place in the early hours of the morning after the survivor and her male friend returned from a Christmas

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

at a nearby church. The two students were sitting in a secluded area of the campus when the assailants attacked the male student and then proceeded to sexually assault the woman. The survivor immediately filed a police complaint, and a case was registered under Section 64 of the BNSS (rape). The perpetrator was arrested and detained under the Tamil Nadu Goondas act and was lodged into Puzhal prison.

Affiliated colleges

The university's campus is in Chennai. The university has satellite campuses in

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

, Tiruchirappalli,

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

and

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

. The university also runs engineering colleges at Villupuram,

Tindivanam Tindivanam is a municipality in Viluppuram district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in Villupuram District after the headquarters town Villupuram. Important roads from north to s ...

, Arani and

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

region, Erode and

Bargur Bargur is a selection-grade town panchayat in the Krishnagiri district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, that serves as the headquarters of Bargur taluk, one of the seven taluks in Krishnagiri district. History The town panchayat of Bargur was ...

region, Panruti, Pattukkottai, Thirukkuvalai and Ariyalur in Tiruchirapalli region,

Ramanathapuram Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a city Municipal Corporation in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) ...

and Dindigul in

region,

Nagercoil Nagercoil, natively spelt as Nāgarkovil (, "Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a Municipal Corporation city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the ...

and

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...

region.

Notable Alumni

* A Lalitha, first female engineer from India * A. C. Muthiah, Indian industrialist and former

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

president *

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...

, Telugu film actor * Anumolu Ramakrishna, deputy managing director of Larsen & Toubro * Crazy Mohan, Tamil comedy actor, script writer and playwright * Kavithalaya Krishnan Indian film and television actor * Dhiraj Rajaram, founder & chairman of Mu Sigma Inc * Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Australia and Myanmar and Chancellor, Central University of Jammu * Kanuri Lakshmana Rao, architect of India's water management, Former Union Minister of Irrigation & Power and recipient of the Padma Bhushan * Krishnakumar Natarajan, co-founder & former executive chairman of

Mindtree Mindtree Limited was an Indian multinational information technology services and consulting company, headquartered in Bangalore. Mindtree was acquired by Larsen & Toubro in 2019, before being merged with L&T Infotech (LTI) in 2022 to form L ...

* Krishnamachari Srikkanth, former Indian cricket captain and former chairman, National Selection Committee of the Indian Cricket Team * Kutraleeswaran, long-distance swimmer and

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

holder * Madhan Karky, Tamil film lyricist * Mendu Rammohan Rao, former dean emeritus, Indian School of Business * Munirathna Anandakrishnan, former chairman, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and former vice-chancellor, Anna University * N. Mahalingam, founder & former chairman, Sakthi Group and former chairman, Ethiraj College for Women * P. S. Veeraraghavan, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre * R. K. Baliga, developer of the Electronics City in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

* P. V. Nandhidhaa, Indian chess player,

's 17th Woman Grandmaster. * Ponnambalam "Poondi" Kumaraswamy, engineer, mathematician, and hydrologist * Raj Reddy,

Turing Award The ACM A. M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. It is generally recognized as the highest distinction in the fi ...

winner, professor at

Carnegie-Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a Private university, private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became t ...

and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

recipient * Rajkumar Bharathi, classical singer and music composer * Rangaswamy Narasimhan,

cognitive scientist Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

who developed TIFRAC, the first indigenous Indian computer,

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

winner * Ravi Ruia, vice chairperson & co-founder of

Essar Group Essar Group is an Indian Multinational company, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate company, founded by Shashi and Ravi Ruia, Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. The company, known as Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), owns a vari ...

* S. Somasegar, former senior vice president,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

* Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, former cricket captain and ICC Elite Umpires Panel member * Upendra J. Chivukula, former

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

member * V. M. Muralidharan, chairman, Ethiraj College for Women * J. Sai Deepak, lawyer in the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

* V. S. Mahalingam, DRDO scientist and director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics * Venu Srinivasan, chairman of Sundaram - Clayton Limited and

TVS Motor Company TVS Motor Company is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Chennai. It is the third-largest motorcycle company in India by revenue. The company has annual sales of three million units and an ...

* Verghese Kurien, architect of Operation Flood and India's

White Revolution The White Revolution () or the Shah and People Revolution () was a far-reaching series of reforms to aggressively modernize the Pahlavi Iran, Imperial State of Iran launched on 26 January 1963 by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and ended with ...

and recipient of the Padma Vibhushan,

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

and the World Food Prize * M. Madan Babu , director at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital * Sundaram Karivardhan, industrialist and motorsport pioneer * A. G. Ramakrishnan, professor,

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The ...

* Mahesh Muthuswami, Cinema tog 2012

References

External links

* *
Architecture
{{Authority control Technical universities and colleges in India Universities and colleges established in 1978 1978 establishments in Tamil Nadu Memorials to C. N. Annadurai