Overview
Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), formerly known as the Allahabad Agricultural Institute, is a state agricultural university located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. It functions as an autonomous Christian minority institution under the Sam Higginbottom Educational and Charitable Society, Allahabad.
The institution was established in 1910 by Sam Higginbottom as the Allahabad Agricultural Institute, with the aim of improving the economic status of the rural population. In 1942, it became the first institute in India to offer a degree in Agricultural Engineering. The university is regarded by many as a progenitor of the Green Revolution in India and counts several scientists, geneticists and agricultural engineers among its alumni.
The institute was conferred deemed university status on 15 March 2000 and was certified as a Christian Minority Educational Institution in December 2005. In 2009, as a tribute to its founder, a proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development to rename the Allahabad Agricultural Institute as the Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences. The Ministry of Human Resource Development had earlier placed it among the 'A' category deemed universities on the basis of an expert committee recommendation. In December 2016, the Uttar Pradesh State cabinet decided to elevate the institution from deemed university status to a full-fledged university through the SHUATS Act, operational from 29 December 2016, giving it its present name.
The academic structure of the university is organised into six faculties: Agriculture; Engineering and Technology; Science; Theology; Management, Humanities and Social Sciences; and Health Sciences. These comprise 15 constituent schools, over 60 academic departments and four advanced research centres, with an emphasis on scientific, agricultural and technological education and research. The university also operates the Hayes Memorial Mission Hospital as part of its health sciences infrastructure.