Delhi University

Delhi University is the premier public university located in New Delhi. Delhi University is commonly also referred to as the University of Delhi. The university came into existence through an act of the Central Legislative Assembly in 1922. University Grants Commission (UGC) recognizes this university as an Institute of Eminence. Its functions are mainly divided into departments and constituent colleges of the university. At the foundation, the university had three colleges and 750 students. The university comprises 86 departments and 16 faculties divided into two zones: South Campus and North Campus. The Chancellor of the Delhi University is the Vice-President of India.

Delhi University
MottoDedication, Steadfastness, and Truth
TypePublic University
Founded1922
AccreditationNAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council)
AffiliationsAssociation of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), University Grants Commission (India)
ChancellorVice President of India
Vice-ChancellorYogesh Singh
Students25,315
Academic Staff1,060
Doctoral Students3,700
Post Graduates20,344
Undergraduates1,271

History of University of Delhi

Delhi University

It was founded in 1922 by the Colonial Government as a residential, unitary, and teaching university through an act of the Central Legislative Assembly. There were only four colleges at the time of the foundation, and they were Hindu College (1889), St. Stephen College (1881), Zakir Hussain Delhi College (earlier popular as the Delhi College) and the Ramjas College (1917), and they were affiliated to Delhi University. It had only two faculties, i.e., science and arts, with 750 students.

British had shifted its capital from Kolkata to New Delhi in 1911. The residence of the Viceroy of India was Viceregal Lodge Estate until it was allotted to the University of Delhi in 1933. From that now it consists of a vice-chancellor's office and other offices of the University of Delhi.

Sir Maurice Gwyer visited the nation to take the responsibility of Chief Justice of Colonial India in 1937, and he also took the responsibility of the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University. He has been titled "maker of the university," and his tenure as Vice-Chancellor ended in 1950. During his tenure, laboratories and postgraduate teaching courses were introduced to the university. Faculty members were Panchanan Maheshwari (Botany) and Daulat Singh Kothari (Physics).

Along with India's Independence in 1947, the University of Delhi's silver jubilee also came. Varadaraja Rao hoisted the national flag for the first time in the main building. No Convocation function was performed as the nation was in grief because of the partition of India. A Special ceremony was held, which was graced by the Former Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, along with Lady Mountbatten, Lord Mountbatten, Zakir Hussain, Abul Kalam Azad, and Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar. Delhi University celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1973 in the presence of Indira Gandhi, Amrita Pritam, Satyajit Ray, and M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Current Form of the University of Delhi

The university has grown into a huge with changing times. Delhi University commands 86 academic departments, 77 colleges, 16 faculties, and 5 other institutes across the city.

Delhi University is the top choice of students for pursuing higher education. Honorary degrees have been conferred to eminent persons like former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, versatile actor Amitabh Bachchan, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown, and Chemist C.N.R Rao Cartoonist R.K. Laxman.

Delhi University's Campuses

Delhi University-affiliated colleges have been spread across Delhi, but it is mainly divided into two campuses: North Campus and South Campus. Zakir Hussain, which is situated in Central Delhi, is the oldest college which is 300 years old.

North Campus

The following colleges are included in the North Campus:

  • Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce
  • Kirori Mal College
  • Lady Irwin College
  • Daulat Ram College
  • Hindu College
  • Hansraj College
  • Indraprastha College for Women
  • Miranda House
  • Satyawati College
  • Shri Ram College of Commerce
  • Stephens College
  • Mata Sundri College for Women
  • Shyam Lal College
  • Lakshmibai College

The campus also stores a Centre for Graduate Study and research, including the Delhi School of Journalism, Cluster Innovation Centre, and the Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical Research (ACBR).

South Campus

Following are the institutes and colleges that are part of the South Campus:

  • Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College
  • Jesus and Mary College
  • Acharya Narendra Dev College
  • Aryabhatta College
  • Deshbandhu College
  • Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College
  • Gargi College
  • Ramanujan College
  • Maitreyi College
  • Motilal Nehru College
  • Motilal Nehru Evening College
  • Ram Lal Anand College
  • Lady Shri Ram College
  • The Delhi College of Arts and Commerce
  • The Institute of Home Economics
  • Pannalal Girdharlal Dayanand Anglo Vedic College
  • Sri Aurobindo College
  • Kamla Nehru College
  • Dyal Singh College
  • Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing

Accommodation

A very limited number of colleges provide hostels to their students, and Hostel facilities depend on the merit of the students. 20 Colleges give hostel facilities to their students.

Administrations and Organisations

Governance Body of the University

  • The Pro-Chancellor: The Chief Justice of India
  • The Chancellor: Vice-President of India
  • The Visitor: President of India
  • The Administrative Body: The court, the executive council, the academic council, and the Finance Committee

The highest executive body of the university is the Academic council, and the highest academic body of the University is Executive Council. They are accountable for education and examination and maintenance of instruction standards within the university premises. The supreme authority of the university is the University Court which holds the jurisdiction to review the acts of the Academic Council and the Executive Councill. The executive council holds the right to advise on all academic matters. The Finance Committee is accountable for budget recommendations, goals, and financial policies.

Colleges

The university is a collegiate university, so all the colleges are affiliated with the University of Delhi. The budget allocation depends on Delhi University and is largely categorized into three ways:

  • Colleges controlled by the University of Delhi.
  • Colleges are controlled by the Delhi Administration, a trust for these colleges.
  • Colleges that the Charitable and Educational Trusts found.

Those colleges which Delhi University controls are entitled to receive a 100% deficient maintenance grant, while Colleges that are maintained by the trusts receive 95% deficit grants.

Sixty-five colleges under university give liberal courses in science, social sciences, and Humanities. Twenty-five colleges are part of the South Campus, and the rest are part of the North Campus. Some colleges also provide evening courses to the students. Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, an undergraduate management college part of the university, is the best B-school in India, ranked by India Today.

Universities' Faculties

86 academic departments are partitioned into 16 faculties:

  • Faculty of Social Sciences
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Medical Sciences
  • Faculty of Music and Fine Arts
  • Faculty of mathematical sciences
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Management Studies
  • Faculty of Interdisciplinary and Applied Science
  • Faculty of Arts
  • Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and Humanities

They have also started to offer the Faculty of Technology that offers courses related to Engineering and Technology. They had faculty called Delhi College of Engineering and later changed to the Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology and Delhi Technological University but turned into the Netaji Subhash University of Technology.

Affiliated Faculties

  1. Faculty of Homeopathic Medicine- It gives degrees in Homoeopathic Medicine.
  2. Faculty of Ayurvedic and Unani Medicine:It gives a degree in Unani medicine and Ayurvedic medicine.

Recognized Institute of the University of Delhi

  • The Ahilya Bai College of Nursing: It is a nursing institute. It gives practical knowledge to their students so that they can acquire in-depth knowledge of Nursing.
  • The Institute of Life Long Learning is for those who think that learning is not age bound and can be taken beyond the classroom and attained at any stage.
  • The Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education is dedicated to Blind students. It is an undergraduate course for Visually Impaired Students and works with the motto of empowering visually impaired pupils.

Affiliated Organizations

  • Nehru Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital
  • National Institute of Health and Family Welfare
  • Kasturba Hospital
  • Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences
  • G.B. Pant Hospital
  • Army Hospital
  • Central Health Education Bureau
  • Hindu Rao Hospital

Delhi University's Academic Courses

The university at present offers 240 courses for Undergraduate and Postgraduates.

Rankings

International

  • Times Emerging (2020): 147
  • Times (Asia): 155
  • Time (World): 601-800
  • BRICS (2019): 42
  • Asia (2020): 67
  • World (2021): 501-510
  • ARWU (2020): 601-700

India

  • Outlook India (Universities) (2020): 8
  • The Week (Universities) (2019): 3
  • NIRF (Universities) (2020): 11
  • NIRF(Overall) (2020): 18

Sports facilities

Delhi University Stadium is located on the North Campus, spans over 10,000 square meters, and can accommodate 7,500 temporary and 2,500 permanent seats. It began building in 2008 and was completed in 2010, before the inception of the commonwealth games. The stadium has a boxing, netball, women's wrestling, and athletics training area.

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee handed over the stadium to the Delhi University administration after the completion of the games. The university devised a plan to upgrade and develop a multipurpose arena for outdoor and indoor facilities. They opened the stadium in 2011 with all accessible facilities.

Life of a Student

Delhi has an elected student union body called Delhi University Students Union, the official student union wing at the University of Delhi.

Faculty and Notable Alumni of the University of Delhi

  • Narendra Modi (14th Prime Minister of India)
  • Vijay Keshav Gokhale (Former Foreign Secretary of India)
  • Arun Jaitley (Former Minister of Finance)
  • Sheila Dixit (Former Chief Minister of Delhi)
  • Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (5TH President of India)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)

1. How to get admission to Delhi University?

Those interested in taking an Undergraduate course at Delhi University have to give CUCET (Central University Common Entrance Exam). The process of application for CUCET 2022 is entirely online.

2. Is it good to study at the University of Delhi?

According to the NIRF Top Universities ranking, D.U. ranks at 19 places in the "Overall Category". The university has 60,000 seats with various programs with 77 colleges affiliated with it. A student must just spend INR 10000 to INR 50000 to complete the course.






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