Patna University is a state public university located in Patna, the capital of Bihar, India. Established in 1917, it is one of the oldest modern universities in the Indian subcontinent and was the seventh university to be set up in British India, after the universities of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Allahabad, Punjab, and Banaras Hindu University.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Type | State public university |
| Established | 1917 |
| Location | Patna, Bihar, India |
| Affiliation | University Grants Commission (UGC) |
| Predecessor links | Patna College, Bihar National College, Patna Science College, and others |
The university was constituted under the Patna University Act, 1917, passed during the period of British India. At its inception, it functioned primarily as an affiliating and examining body, with jurisdiction extending across the provinces of Bihar and Orissa as well as parts of present-day Nepal. Over the decades, its territorial jurisdiction was progressively reduced as new universities were created in the region.
Several constituent and affiliated colleges of Patna University trace their history to the nineteenth century, predating the university itself. Patna College, founded in 1863, is among the oldest of these institutions and became a constituent college upon the university's establishment.
Patna University comprises several constituent colleges, many of which are historically significant in their own right. These include:
The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes across faculties including Arts, Science, Commerce, Social Sciences, Education, and Law. It conducts research in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, and houses departments and centres in subjects ranging from history and economics to physics, chemistry, and mathematics.
Patna University has historically been one of the principal centres of higher education in eastern India. It served as the parent institution from which several universities in Bihar and neighbouring regions were carved out. Its alumni have included notable figures in Indian public life, academia, civil service, literature, and politics. The university is often associated with the broader intellectual history of Patna and the Bihar region during the late colonial and early post-independence periods.
The main university campus and most of its constituent colleges are situated along Ashok Rajpath, on the southern bank of the Ganges in Patna. The riverside stretch hosting the colleges is among the most recognisable academic precincts in the city.