ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY
The
University of Delhi was established in 1922 as a unitary,
teaching and residential university by an Act of the then
Central Legislative Assembly. The three colleges: St.
Stephen's founded in 1881, Hindu in 1899 and Ramjas in
1917 were affiliated to the University, which therefore
had a modest beginning with just three Colleges, two
Faculties (Arts and Science) and about 750 students. The
Indraprastha College for Women was established in 1927. An
important step was taken in 1933 when the old Vice Regal
Lodge with its extensive gardens was made the Campus of
the University. Till today this site remains the nucleus
of the University - its Main Campus. The old residence of
the Viceroy has recently been declared a heritage site and
restored to its former glory. In 1943 the University was
given a federal structure with the colleges as its
constituent units. Nowadays, most undergraduate teaching
is done in its colleges, while the University organises
postgraduate teaching and research in its departments.
Sir
Maurice Gwyer, the longest serving of its Vice
Chancellors, envisioned the University as a cluster of
colleges with the departments as its core. It is in this
context that Miranda House was established as a
residential college for women and the first woman's
college to offer science courses. Asa part of this vision,
in addition to the three existing colleges, Shri Ram
College of Commerce, Hans Raj College, Kirori Mai College,
Daulat Ram College, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College
and at a short distance, Indraprastha College for Women
were established. All these now form part of what is known
as the North Campus.
As areas
of South Delhi started developing, many new colleges were
set up to meet the growing needs of the metropolis. These
were established as affiliating colleges of the University
by various Societies, Trusts and also by the Delhi
Government. In 1983, the Sherubtse College in Bhutan was
affiliated to the University by a special Act of
Parliament.
There has
been a considerable increase in student enrolment in
recent years. The number of students in the 78 colleges, 4
recognised institutions, 84 postgraduate departments and
11 recognised hospitals (including students in the
non-formal streams) was approximately 320,000 in 2003 as
compared to 26,000 in 1962 -when the Correspondence
courses were first started.
In an effort to cope with this enormous expansion, while
continuing to maintain its high academic standards, the
University in the early 1970s initiated a new
organisational pattern based on the multi-campus concept.
The South Campus made a beginning in 1973 by starting
postgraduate programmes in some departments of the
Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences in a rented
building. It was allotted land near Dhaula Kuan and
offices and teaching activities shifted to this campus in
1983. The South Campus has now become the focus of
interdisciplinary studies particularly in the Life
Sciences. The recently established Campus of Open Learning
is a virtual campus catering to students enrolled in the
distance mode and steps are likely to be initiated soon to
set up campuses in East and West Delhi.
The Main (North) Campus with its forty postgraduate
departments concentrates on basic disciplines such as
Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and
others like Law, Music, Education, Languages, Management,
and Distance Education. It is situated in the northern
part of the city in a picturesque site adjoining the
Ridge. Some of the administrative offices of the
University are housed in the old Vice Regal Lodge.
The South
Campus is organized into nine departments that offer
teaching and research programmes with an
inter-disciplinary and applied orientation in areas such
as Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Electronic
Sciences, Financial and Public Systems Management,
Genetics, Information Technology and Plant Molecular
Biology.
The East
Campus is being developed with the University College of
Medical Sciences as its nucleus, while the West Campus
will focus on Engineering and Technology.
The
University of Delhi has a unique relationship with its
colleges. They enjoy a fair degree of autonomy in their
day-to-day functioning and management. However, there is a
uniformity that binds the colleges together in matters of
academic and administrative policy under the supervision
of the statutory bodies of the University such as the
Academic and the Executive Councils. This is especially
true of curricula and examinations, which are implemented
and conducted by the University. The colleges of the
University are unique in so far as they are a vital part
of the larger entity, which provides for healthy exchange
and interaction amongst their teachers and students.
Like the seasons, the University also has a rhythm and a
pace. The summer months of June and July see the hum of
admission activity as thousands of students throng the
corridors of its colleges seeking admission. Soon this
changes to the steady pace of academic work. The onset of
winter sees the colleges humming with debates, drama
festivals, rock shows and a general air of festivity. As
winter reaches its height and the season starts to change,
a sombre mood descends as students get down to the serious
task of studying for the examinations, which arrive with
unfailing regularity in April and continue till June
Information provided here is compiled from various sources
including Delhi University's official website :
www.du.ac.in,
information brochures, and various newspapers. Information
presented here is uptodate to the best of our knowledge.
This website is for informational purpose only , however
we assume no responsibility for the decisions based on its
use and make no warranties in any form regarding the
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