Chennai’s majestic Marina beach front is home to the University of Madras, among the three oldest colonial universities of India. Established in 1857 and modelled on the University of London, it has four campuses with more than 50 specialisation courses, over 8000 students, a faculty of about 300 and 43 external research institutes. With large endowments from various local and foreign institutions and excellent research facilities, Madras University now has a Five Star status from theNational Assessment and Accreditation Council of India.
The Presidency College, originally a preparatory high school, formed the nucleus of Madras University when it was established over a century and a half ago. In a radical move at the time, the College opened its doors to women in 1889. The College’s law courses were shifted into the Law College in 1891, and thereafter, Madras University expanded fast, to include several other prestigious academic institutions in the city. In 1869, the University shifted to the beautiful Senate House, one of the most splendid examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture in the country today. Soon after, Queen Mary’s College for Women (1914) joined the University, followed by Loyola College, which opened in its spacious Nungambakkam campus in 1925. Madras University’s alumni reads like a scholastic who’s-who. Scores of scientists, academicians, writers, politicians of repute including many state and central government ministers and Presidents have passed through its hallowed portals in the century and a half of its existence.
Four former presidents studied at Madras University - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, V V Giri, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and R Venkataraman. Two Nobel prize winners, Sir CV Raman and Subrahmanian Chandrashekhar graduated from here; several of India’s finance ministers, including P Chidambaram, studied here. Anna University, one of India’s largest engineering, technical and allied sciences universities, was established in Guindy in 1978. With over 2.5 lakh undergraduate students, 40000 post graduate students, over 3500 PhD scholars and an astounding turnover of 65000 engineering graduates every year, Anna University’s alumni list is equally impressive. Former president APJ Abdul Kalam studied Aeronautical Engineering here, as did AM Turing award laureate Raj Reddy, cricketer Krishnamachari Srikanth and several others.