University of Kashmir (UoK), informally known as Kashmir University (KU), is a collegiate

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 the Hazratbal neighbourhood, on the western side of Dal Lake in the city of

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, in Jammu and Kashmir, India, which was established in 1948. The university is divided into three parts; Hazratbal Campus (main campus), Naseem Bagh Campus, and Mirza Bagh Campus. The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate and

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

programs in the fields of

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

, business, commerce &

management studies Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administr ...

, education, law,

applied sciences Applied science is the application of the scientific method and scientific knowledge to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines, such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted with basic science, ...

& Technology,

biological sciences Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

, physical &

material A material is a matter, substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an Physical object, object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical property, physical ...

sciences,

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

s, medicine,

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

, engineering, oriental learning, and music & fine arts. It has been awarded Grade "A++" by the NAAC in june 2025. It has also been awarded rank 45 among universities in India by NIRF ranking 2024.

History

The inception of the University of

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

dates back to the establishment of Jammu and Kashmir University in 1948. Contribution of academics of various faculties needs special mention. Notable alumni are spread around globe, have made a name for country and for the university. In 1969, it was made into two full-fledged universities: University of Kashmir at

and

University of Jammu The University of Jammu informally known as Jammu University (JU), accredited as A++ grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), was established in 1969 by an act of the state legislature which effectively split the Jammu and ...

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

. The University of Kashmir, since its establishment, has been focused at Hazratbal and encompasses three adjacent areas: Amar Singh Bagh, Naseem Bagh and Mirza Bagh. This campus is spread over . It is the largest university by a number of full-time students in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. A major part of Amar Singh Bagh and Naseem Bagh constitute the Hazratbal campus which is laid out on the northeastern bank of Dal Lake. Earlier, many postgraduate departments, research and other centres were housed in Naseem Bagh. But the university resolved to develop Naseem Bagh into a heritage site and, thereafter, many departments were shifted to other areas of the Hazratbal campus. Zakura Campus is being developed on 300 kanals of land in close proximity to Hazratbal campus to meet expansion requirements of the university. Mirza Bagh or "University Town" constitutes buildings housing quarters for the university staff. The idea of extending postgraduate programmes to colleges and establishing new campuses at Ananthnag and Baramulla was conceived by the then Vice Chancellor Prof Raees Ahmad in 2002. He mobilised over 300 million for the development of the university from the prime minister's fund for the overall development of the main campus and the establishment of the new campuses. The foundation stones were laid by Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and the plans of buildings were approved. The locations of the campuses had to be changed because of likely floods. After Prof Tareen the development of campuses took a long time and became operational in 2008/2009. The new social science block, the life science block, the examination block, the humanities block, the distance education block, the media block and many other buildings were constructed in 2001 and 2004 during Prof Tareen's period out of the PMs special fund. The 200-capacity convention centre was also completed. The South Campus established on 259 kanals of land at Fateh Garh, Anantnag was started in October 2008. The North Campus on 559 kanals at Delina, Baramulla was started in December 2009. Three more campuses at Kupwara, Kargil and Leh are coming up.

Present form

There are 12 faculties, 47 academic departments, 21 centres, 36 colleges and six (privately managed) recognised institutes spread all over the state. The two largest departments in student enrolment include

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

and the

Business School A business school is a higher education institution or professional school that teaches courses leading to degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, s ...

. The Faculty of Law being one of the oldest departments runs three courses LLB, LLM and B.A, LLB(Hons). The department's student body, "Law Society," actively organises debates, seminars, and moot court competitions. The faculty publishes a refereed research journal, ''Kashmir University Law Review'' (''KULR''). The business school has been renamed as the Department of management studies before the NAAC visit, that was held in 2019. It was changed because they added some other courses as well and thus the name Department of management studies other than the business school. It is still called as the business school but on papers the name has changed The courses offered by the department of Media Education Research Centre (MERC) are in mass communication and journalism. In 2014 the university started its engineering college – Institute of Technology at the newly acquired Zakura Campus. Currently, the college offers four-year BTech courses in Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering and Electrical Engineering.

Campus

The university has 247 acres campus in Hazratbal. To make education more accessible to people living in remote areas of

Kashmir valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

, the university has established Satellite Campuses at

Anantnag Anantnag ( ; ), also called Islamabad ( ; ), is the administrative headquarters of Anantnag district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "admi ...

(South Campus), Zakura Campus (Institute of Technology), and Baramulla (North Campus). Three more Satellite Campuses at Kupwara,

Kargil Kargil or Kargyil is a City in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TERTIARY, tert ...

and

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

are being established.

Library

The university has a central library called Allama Iqbal Library. It has a collection of over 600,000 books including 415 rare manuscripts. It was established to cater the needs of scholars, researchers and students of the university. With the split of university in 1969, the library was shared by the two universities (University of Kashmir and

Hostels

The university provides residential facilities on a first-come-first-served basis to the teaching and non-teaching staff as well as to students. *Gani Kashmiri Hostel for research scholars pursuing M.Phil. and PhD programmes *Habba Khatoon Girls Hostel for female students *Mehboob-ul-Aalam Hostel for postgraduate male students *Shiekh-ul-Aalam ^(A.R) Hostel for male students *Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri Hostel for male students

Affiliated colleges

The University of Kashmir has 45 affiliated and 21 constituent colleges. Constituent colleges * Government Medical College, Srinagar * Government Medical College, Handwara * Government Medical College, Anantnag * Government Medical College, Baramulla *Government Dental College, Srinagar *Government College of Education, Srinagar *Institute of Music & Fine Arts, Srinagar *Government College of Physical Education, Ganderbal *DOEACC, Rangreth Srinagar *Composite Regional Centre Permanently affiliated government colleges *

Islamia College of Science and Commerce, Srinagar The Islamia College of Science and Commerce, Srinagar (commonly referred to as Islamia College or ICSC) is a University Grants Commission Autonomous College, and accredited as A grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council, in the st ...

* Government College for Women, Anantnag * Government College for Women, Baramulla *

Government College for Women, Nawakadal Srinagar Government College for Women, ''Nawakadal Srinagar commonly known as Women's college Nawakadal, Nowkadal College is a University Grants Commission (India), University Grants Commission recognized 2B and 12f college located in Old City Downtown ...

* Government Degree College for Boys, Anantnag * Government College for Boys, Baramulla * Government Degree College, Bemina * Government Degree College, Kupwara *Government Degree College, Sogam lolab * Government Degree College, Handwara * Government Degree College, Sopore *

Government Degree College, Pulwama The Government Degree College, Pulwama also known as GDC Pulwama, is a college located on a 66 ''kanal'' () campus in Pulwama in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It was established in the year 1986. It is affiliated to Universi ...

Organisation and administration

Faculties, departments, and centres

*School of Arts, Languages and Literature **Department of Arabic **Department of Urdu **Department of English **Department of Kashmiri **Department of Foreign Languages **Department of Library and Information Science **Department of Linguistics **Department of Persian **Department of Sanskrit **Department of Hindi *School of Social Sciences **Department of History **Department of Shah-i-Hamadan^(A.R) Institute of Islamic Studies **Media Education Research Center (MERC) **Department of Political Science **Department of Sociology & Social Work **Department of Psychology **Department of Philosophy **Department of Library & Information Sciences (LIS) *School of Business Studies **Department of Commerce **Department of Management Studies **Department of Economics **Department of Tourism, Hospitality & Leisure Studies *Faculty of Education **Department of Education **Department of Physical Education *Faculty of Medicine *Faculty of Dentistry *School of Unani and Ayurvedic Medicine *Faculty of Engineering **Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (Zakura Campus) **Department of Mechanical Engineering (Zakura Campus) **Department of Electrical Engineering (Zakura Campus) **Department of Civil Engineering (Zakura Campus) **Department of Computer Science and Engineering (North Campus, Delina Baramulla) *Faculty of Law ** Department of Law *Faculty of Music & Fine Arts *Faculty of Oriental Learning *Faculty of Biological Sciences **Department of Botany **Department of Biochemistry **Department of Zoology **Department of Biotechnology **Department of Clinical Biochemistry *Faculty of Physical & Material Sciences **Department of Chemistry **Department of Geology & Geophysics **Department of Mathematics **Department of Physics **Department of Statistics *School of Earth and Environment Sciences **Department of Earth Sciences **Department of Environmental Science **Department of Geography & Regional Development **Department of Geoinformatics *Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology **Electronics & Instrumentation Technology **Institute of Home Science **Pharmaceutical Science **Department of Computer Science **Department of Food Science & Technology **Department of Information Technology ( currently under IT&SS) *Centres **Directorate of Physical Education & Sports **Directorate of Distance Education **Directorate of Life Long Learning **Directorate of Information Technology & Support System (IT & SS) **Directorate of Internal Quality Assurance (DIQA) **Directorate of Watch & Ward **Directorate of Hygiene & Environment **Directorate of Convocation Complex **Centre of Central Asian Studies (CCAS) **Centre of Research for Development (CORD) **Centre for Energy Studies **Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy **University Science & Instrumentation Centre **Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC) **State Resource Centre (SRC) **Public Relations Centre (PRC) **Centre for Career Planning and Counselling(CCPC) **Population Research Centre (PRC) **Allama Iqbal^(A.R) Institute of Culture & Philosophy **Institute of Music & Fine Arts **Regional Study Center *Faculty of Nursing

Academics

University of Kashmir offers 107 courses across 11 streams at undergraduate, postgraduate and

level. Under undergraduate programme, the university offers three-year Bachelor of Arts,

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bac ...

Bachelor of Law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and Bachelor of Science streams, four-year

Bachelor of Technology A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is an undergraduate degree that is awarded for a higher education program in engineering. Countries Australia In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology degree is offered by RMIT University, Edith Cowan Univ ...

and five-year integrated BA LLB courses in different specializations. Under postgraduate programme, the university offers two-year Master of Arts,

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

, MBA-FM,

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

Master of Commerce A Master of Commerce (MCom or M Com) is a postgraduate degree designed to provide knowledge in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. Like the undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce, the degree is mainly offered ...

, Master of Technology,

Master of Pharmacy The Master of Pharmacy is a postgraduate degree in pharmacy, awarded upon the completion of postgraduate coursework or an integrated undergraduate-postgraduate curriculum. Typically, this program lasts for four to five years. Australia In 2004 ...

and

Master of Computer Applications A Master of Science in Information Technology (abbreviated M.Sc.IT, MScIT or MSIT) is a master's degree in the field of information technology awarded by universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiar ...

courses. These courses are offered by different schools of specialisations which fall under their respective departments and faculties.

Scholarships

Merit scholarships

Students selected for admission to various courses/programmes in the university are eligible to receive two merit scholarships which are paid to the top two merit holders. Merit scholarship in favour of previous year paid students is granted on the basis of merit in the entrance test to the course. In the final year, it is awarded on the basis of merit in the M.A/ MSc/ M.Com./ MLIS Previous/ 1st & 2nd semester examination. The scholarship is granted from the date of admission to the course up to the last date of the examination, subject to a maximum period of 12 calendar months.

Research scholarships

There are six departmental scholarships in each Department/Research Centre awarded for research leading to the award of PhD/M.Phil. degrees in addition to contingency grant payable annually for meeting miscellaneous expenses. The amount of scholarship paid to each selected scholar is Rs 10000/= per month for the period of maximum three years.

Students aid

The university has adopted a scheme called "Student Aid Fund" under which financial assistance is extended to students, particularly the meritorious ones from low-income groups. The Kashmir University Alumni Association also provides financial assistance to students with poor economic backgrounds with preference given to students who are orphans.

Rankings

Internationally, the University of Kashmir was ranked 451–500 in Asia 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 ...

for 2023. In India, the

ranked the University of Kashmir 56–60 and 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) ranked it 69th overall and 45th among universities in 2024.

Sports

The Directorate of Physical Education & Sports was established in the university in the year 1948 with the objective of promoting sports culture among the youth for the overall development of personality. Since then, it has hosted various inter-university tournaments in various sports like

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

, and dragon boating at zonal and national levels. The university students have also earned laurels to the university in International Winter Sports Championships. Adventure sports like

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

and

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain hu ...

have also been introduced. Several training camps are also organised in the university to train the students pursuing different courses. The university has

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, volleyball,

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

, baseball, tennis, and basketball courts/fields and gyms within the main campus.

Notable alumni

* Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi-Indian Politician,Member of Parliament * Agha Shahid Ali – Poet * Ayub Thakur – political activist / physician *

Bilal Nazki Justice Bilal Nazki (born 18 November 1947) is an Indian jurist. He is a former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court and has served as High Court Judge in the High Courts of Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Bombay. He has also served as the Ch ...

– Chief Justice * Farooq Kathwari – Businessman * Farooq Nazki – Poet / Broadcaster and media personality * Ghulam Nabi Azad – Politician * Karan Singh – Politician / Philosopher * Mansoor Ahmad Mir – Judge * Mehbooba Mufti – Politician * Mirwaiz Umar Farooq – Politician / Religious cleric * Syed Ali Shah Geelani – Politician / Islamic theologist * Masarat Alam Bhat – politician * Saifuddin Soz – Professor * Syed Salahuddin – Islamic scholar / PreacherAbhishek Saha
Syed Salahuddin: From political science student in Kashmir to ‘global terrorist’
, Hindustan times, 27 June 2017. * Sunanda Pushkar – Businesswoman * Tarannum Riyaz – Writer * Z. G. Muhammad – Writer * Mohammad Yaqoob Mir – Judge * Malik Sajad – Graphic novelist * Irfan Mehraj – Indian journalist and Human rights activist

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashmir, University of Universities and colleges established in 1956 Universities in Jammu and Kashmir

University of Kashmir University of Kashmir (UoK), informally known as Kashmir University (KU), is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public State university (India), state university located in the Hazratbal neighbourhood, on the western side of ...

Srinagar district 1956 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir