Jadavpur University
Each college campus has a charm and perks of its own. This article discusses the history, campus and admission process of Jadavpur University. Read on!
History
National Council of Education, Bengal
University of Calcutta is one of the three universities in modern India, the other two being Bombay (now Mumbai) and Madras University. It was set up by the British in Calcutta in 1861 as a means of spreading western philosophical thought among the elite in India. It also aimed to create, in the words of Lord Macaulay, “a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.” This initiative was furthered by the passing of the Universities Act of 1904. This resulted in the reorganization of the Calcutta University’s Senate and Syndicate by the nomination of more white members into them, which in turn would enable the government to control its policies.
The government also decided to disaffiliate many private Indian colleges, which had come up lately and were regarded by the government as hotbeds of nationalist agitation. The measures stirred the educated middle class to move for alternative systems of education. Even the diplomas awarded by Jadavpur University were not recognised by the UGC / Govt. of India in the past until it was upgraded to a university in 1955. Its diploma awarded by National Council of Education was not recognized til 1954.
On 16 November 1905, the Landholders Society organized a meeting at Park Street, attended by around 1500 delegates, including Rabindranath Tagore, Aurobindo Ghosh, Raja Subodh Chandra Mullick and Brajendra Kishore Roychowdhury. The idea of the National Council of Education was mooted here. While in a meeting held on 9 November 1905 at the Field and Academic Club, Subodh Chandra Mullick pledged Rupees one lakh for the foundation of a National University in Bengal. The objective in setting up the institution that was to challenge the British rule over education by offering education to the masses ‘on national lines and under national control’.
Emblem

The emblem of the university is a three-flamed lamp encircled by lotus petals. The lamp represents knowledge. The three flames represent intellectual training, cultivation of emotions and imagination, and spiritual development. The petals of the lotus on the periphery represent fine arts and culture. The emblem was designed by Nandalal Bose, a key member of the Bengal School of Art, who was one of the great masters at Kala Bhavan in Rabindranath Tagore’s Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. As the university celebrated its Golden Jubilee on 24 December 2005, the emblem was created to commemorate the occasion, and the motto ‘To Know Is To Grow’ was coined. This date was also the centenary of the National Council of Education.
Campus
Jadavpur University is semi-residential, which at present operates out of two urban campuses: one in Jadavpur (58 acres (230,000 m2)) and another in Salt Lake (26 acres (110,000 m2)).
National Instruments Limited Campus

Affiliated institutes
In addition to being a unitary university, it has other institutes like the Jawahari Devi Birla Institute of Commerce and Management, Jadavpur Vidyapith as well as the Institute of Business Management, Jadavpur University affiliated to it, which operate out of independent campuses. While these institutes have their own independent curriculum as well as examination systems, the final degree is offered by Jadavpur University.
Rankings
Internationally, Jadavpur University ranked 601-650 by the QS World University Rankings of 2018, 125 in Asia and 74 among BRICS nations. It was ranked 601-800 in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2018, 101-110 in Asia and 99 among BRICS & Emerging Economies University Rankings in 2017. It was also ranked 772 in the world by U.S. News & World Report.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework has ranked it 9 among engineering colleges in India in 2017, 12 overall and 5th among universities.
University and college rankings | |
---|---|
General – international | |
QS (World) (2018) | 601-650 |
QS (BRICS) (2018) | 74 |
QS (Asia) (2018) | 125 |
Times (World) (2018) | 601-800 |
Times (BRICS) (2017) | 99 |
Times (Asia) (2017) | 101-110 |
General – India | |
NIRF (Overall) (2017) | 12 |
NIRF (Universities) (2017) | 5 |
Engineering – India | |
NIRF (2017) | 9 |
Admissions