University of Kerala (formerly known as University of Travancore) is a state-run

public 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 ...

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

, the state capital of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the

Maharajah of Travancore The Maharaja of Travancore was the principal title of the ruler of the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore in the southern part of Kerala, India. The Maharaja of Travancore was the topmost ruler of Travancore until 1949, when Travancore was acced ...

Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal (7 November 1912 – 20 July 1991), was the last ruling Maharaja of the Indian princely state of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and ...

who was also the first Chancellor of the university. C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the then Diwan (Prime Minister) of the State was the first Vice-Chancellor. It was the first university in Kerala, and among the first in the country. It is accredited by NAAC with highest grade of 'A++' and scored 3.67 points out of 4. The university has over 150 affiliated colleges and has sixteen faculties and 43 Departments of teaching and research. The

Governor of Kerala The governor of Kerala is the constitutional head of state of the southern Indian state of Kerala. The governor is appointed by the President of India, and holds office at the President's pleasure. The governor is ''de jure'' head of the govern ...

serves as the

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of university.

History

The history of the University of Kerala is integral to the history of the state itself. One of the first 16 Universities in India, the University of Kerala was founded in 1937. It was formerly called the University of Travancore in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore (now southern part of Kerala and some neighbouring parts of state of Tamilnadu). The University came into being by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the University. Sir C. P Ramaswamy Ayyar, the then Diwan (Prime minister) of the State was the first Vice-Chancellor. He was an eminent scholar and an able administrator. It is said that the Government made an unsuccessful attempt to invite

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

to be the first Vice-Chancellor. The University was modelled after the best Universities of the United Kingdom, and even today retains some of these features. The affiliating system of the University however evolved differently from the college system in British Universities. The earliest origins of the University may be traced back to two institutions of modern learning in Kerala - the

University College Thiruvananthapuram University College, Thiruvananthapuram, often abbreviated as UCT, is a public college situated in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Pot ...

and the Trivandrum Observatory. The University College was initially founded as the Maharaja's Free School by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal in 1834, with Mr John Roberts, a Christian Missionary as Headmaster, and soon grew into a college in 1866, affiliated to the Madras University. When the University of Travancore was founded, the departments of the college became University departments, only to switch back again when the transformation to University of Kerala happened in 1957. The University College still retains its connection with the University as an affiliated college. The Thiruvananthapuram Observatory was founded in 1838 and had an internationally reputed scientist, John Caldecott FRS as its first Director. It became a part of the Travancore University, but was administered as an independent government institution for some time. It is now the oldest institution under the Kerala University.

Organisation and administration

Governance

The Chancellor, the Pro-Chancellor, the Vice- Chancellor, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and the members of the Senate, the Syndicate and the Academic Council constitutes the governing body of the university. The

is the Chancellor of the university while Education Minister of Kerala is the Pro-Chancellor of the university.

Affiliated colleges

Rankings

It was ranked 21st among universities and 38th overall by the

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 ...

(NIRF) in 2024. 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 ...

'' ranked the university 339th in Asia in 2025.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni includes tenth

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

K. R. Narayanan Kocheril Raman "K. R." Narayanan (27 October 1920 – 9 November 2005) was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academic, and politician who served as the vice president of India from 1992 to 1997 and president of India from 1997 to 2002. Naray ...

, renowned

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...

Thanu Padmanabhan, geneticist M. S. Swaminathan,

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister o ...

former Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, INSA scientist Perdur Radhakantha Adiga, former

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

judges, Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice Fathima Beevi, legal luminary N. R. Madhava Menon, Indian film actor

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

, Malayalam poets

O. N. V. Kurup Ottaplakkal Neelakandan Velu Kurup (known as O. N. V. Kurup; 27 May 1931 – 13 February 2016) was a Malayalam poet and lyricist from Kerala, India, who won the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India for the year 2007. He received ...

, Sugathakumari, Music composer G. Devarajan, historian M. G. S. Narayanan, cricketer Sanju Samson and many other eminent personalities. File:President Clinton with Indian president K. R. Narayanan (cropped).jpg, 10th President of India,

File:ThanuPadmanabhan.png, Professor Thanu Padmanabhan File:Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan - Kolkata 2013-01-07 2685.JPG, Father of Green Revolution, M. S. Swaminathan File:APJwithNair.JPG, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair with A. P. J. Abdul Kalam File:N. R. Madhava Menon.jpg, Father of Modern Indian Legal Education, N. R. Madhava Menon File:Mohanlal Viswanathan BNC.jpg, Indian film actor,

File:GDevarajan.jpg, Music composer, G. Devarajan

Others

* Ameer Shahul * Ambalapuzha Gopakumar * Dr. C. V. Ananda Bose * K. S. Chithra *

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

* Jacob Abraham * S. Suresh Babu * M. A. Baby * T. V. Rajan Babu * Veliyam Bharghavan * Tiffany Brar * Sathyabhama Das Biju * G. Devarajan * C. Divakaran *

Renji Panicker Renji Panicker (born 23 September 1960) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, film producer, and journalist known for his works in Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with '' Bharatchandran IPS'' in 2005. Early life He di ...

* Sanal Edamaruku *

Salim Gangadharan Salim Gangadharan (born 30 October 1953) is an Indian banker and the incumbent Chairman of the South Indian Bank. He was also Principal Chief General Manager of Reserve Bank of India and Regional Director for Kerala and Lakshadweep. He has also b ...

* P. K. Gurudasan * Thirunalloor Karunakaran * O. Madhavan * V. Madhusoodanan Nair * Lopamudra R * S. K. Satheesh * T. N. Seema * Bindu Ammini * S. D. Shibulal * M. S. Valiathan *

Mary Verghese Mary Puthisseril Verghese (21 May 1925 – 17 December 1986) was an Indian physician who was among the earliest pioneers of physical medicine and rehabilitation in India. In 1963, she took charge of what was the first department of Physical Med ...

* D. Vinayachandran * Rajashree Warrier *

Jagathy Sreekumar Sreekumar Achary (born 5 January 1951), better known by his stage name Jagathy Sreekumar or simply Jagathy, is an Indian actor, director and playback singer, who has appeared in over 1500 Malayalam films in a career spanning almost four deca ...

* Jagadeesh

References

External links

*
Colleges under Kerala University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerala, University of

University of Kerala University of Kerala (formerly known as University of Travancore) is a state-run public university in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithi ...

Universities in Thiruvananthapuram Universities and colleges established in 1937 Public universities in India 1937 establishments in India