The Karnatak University was set up in Mumbai in the year 1949. However, this location shifted almost immediately to the place of Dharwad by October 1949, and eventually, the University had an inauguration in the year 1950, in the month of March. Sprawled across an area of 750 acres, the University is indeed one of the biggest in India.
Recognized as a University with a ‘Potential for Excellence’ by the UGC, the institution also ranks as the second oldest after the University of Mysore in the Karnataka state. Having around 48 departments in the PG level and UG students brimming over a lakh, the university is affiliated with all colleges in the district of Dharwad, which include Bijapur, Bagalkot, Haveri and Belgaum.
What Does it Offer?
The Karnatak University offers a plethora of courses that are varied and exhaustive in options. The Post Graduate departments are broadly split into 3 faculties, namely, Social Science, Science and Arts. Earlier, engineering and medical sciences were also a part of the University. However, after the establishment of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and the Visvesvaraya Technological University, these fields have been removed from the Karnatak University. The Science department offers a range of courses varying from Applied Genetics to Marine Biology. They also have a Research Center for DNA Diagnostics in the campus.
Research and Grants
The KUD has received grants and funding for many of their research projects and developmental activities. The most important one being the University Grants Commission, followed by grants from the Karnataka State Research Scheme, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Nuclear Science Center and so on. The University has actively been involved in a lot of research initiatives, and their results have also been very positive and published for all to see.
The Who’s Who of Karnatak University
The University owes a lot to its erstwhile vice-chancellor, Dr. D.C. Pavate who headed the university from 1954 to 1967 as he was responsible for its rapid development. Dr. H.B. Walikar, the current vice-chancellor of the University, along with a few MLAs from the State of Karnataka are members of the Academic Council as well.
With facilities such as gardens, parks and a children park inside the campus, this university provides for an entire township in itself. A fully air-conditioned auditorium named Annaji Rao Sirur Rangamandira is suggestively one of the best of its kind in the state of Karnataka. A credit co-operative society also exists for the employees of the University, providing short- and long-term loans as and when they need it. The children of employees also get educated at a Kannada medium primary school that provides education till standard IV for the children.
In short, this University is a torchbearer in the field of education in the country, owing to its brilliant faculty and an impressive infrastructure, providing for a homely student life if one may put it that way.
Contact Address
Karnatak University,
Pavate Nagar, Dharwad – 580 003,
Karnataka State, INDIA.
Also See: