Shaping a new academic order Top General (Government) University

India Today

6 days ago

Rising research output, strong placements and growing enrolments help Delhi University unseat Jawaharlal Nehru University as India's leading public higher education destination
No 1. UNIVERSITY OF DELHI, New Delhi
From its modest beginnings in May 1922 through an Act of the central legislature, the University of Delhi today has evolved into a world-class institution of higher learning in India. In its inaugural year, the university comprised two faculties, Arts and Science, and offered a limited number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes through its three founding colleges: St. Stephen's (1881), Hindu College (1899) and Ramjas College (1917). It began with eight departments: Sanskrit, History, Economics, English, Arabic, Persian, Physics and Chemistry, and the university library was established with a donation of 1,380 books, symbolising the early spirit of learning and scholarship.
Cut to 2025, and the university offers 90 undergraduate, 135 postgraduate and 71 PhD programmes, along with 37 certificate and 114 diploma courses. Spanning 407 acres, it encompasses 91 colleges, 16 faculties, 86 academic departments and 23 centres, schools and institutes, boasting an enrolment of over 620,000 students. This makes it one of India's largest and most diverse public universities.
More than 11,000 students are currently enrolled in PG programmes, underscoring the institution's enduring commitment to advanced academic training, research excellence and interdisciplinary scholarship. Of a total of 109 academic departments, centres, institutes and schools, 87 are dedicated to PG and higher studies.
In alignment with the government's National Education Policy 2020, the university adopted UGCF (Undergraduate Curriculum Framework) 2022 and PGCF (Postgraduate Curriculum Framework) 2025, infusing flexibility, interdisciplinarity, Indian knowledge systems and research orientation into its curriculum.
The infrastructure is a blend of colonial-era heritage buildings and modern, state-of-the-art facilities, including a network of 34 libraries with over 1.7 million volumes and access to 30,000+ e-journals. With 20 student hostels, 568 classrooms and seminar halls equipped with audio-visual and digital learning tools and WiFi-enabled campuses integrated with the National Knowledge Network, the university has over 238 specialised laboratories that support PG and doctoral programmes across the sciences, life sciences, social sciences, humanities and interdisciplinary domains.
In 2024, the university recorded an impressive research output, with over 5,200 publications indexed in Scopus; 10.4 per cent (540 publications) ranked within the top 10 per cent, and 1.2 per cent (62 publications) among the top 1 per cent most cited publications worldwide. In addition, the university filed four patents and recorded 1,725 campus placements. Leading recruiters included Accenture, Deloitte, EY, McKinsey & Company, ZS Associates, ICICI Bank, KPMG, Amazon, Adobe, ITC, Mahindra, Morgan Stanley and TCS, among others. And the highest package offered to a PG student exceeded Rs 1 crore per annum.
However, the figure represents only a part of the university's PG student placement landscape. A significant proportion of students pursue non-traditional, entrepreneurial or flexible career paths that are not fully captured through conventional placement metrics. For example, many LLB and LLM graduates choose independent legal practice, judicial apprenticeships or roles in courts, typically unreported in structured placement data.
Similarly, students from disciplines such as Indian and foreign languages, music and performing arts commonly enter careers in translation, creative writing, journalism, tourism or freelance performance—sectors with rising demand but often with informal employment structures. Over 50 per cent of outgoing PG students come from Science, Commerce, Economics and Social Sciences, many of whom are absorbed into start-ups, consultancy, NGOs and digital media. These emerging fields emphasise flexibility, innovation and personal growth, making the university a powerhouse of higher education.
GUEST COLUMN | Building the future
By Prof. Yogesh Singh, Vice-Chancellor, University of Delhi
Over the past two years, the University of Delhi has embarked on a remarkable journey of transformation, driven by a vision to elevate its stature as a premier institution of higher education in India.
One of the most significant achievements has been the recruitment of nearly 5,000 faculty members. This faculty strengthening drives academic quality and research excellence, providing students with a stable and enriched learning environment. Complementing this is the ongoing recruitment of non-teaching staff, ensuring better administrative support and smoother functioning across the university's sprawling network of 91 colleges and around 500 academic programmes.
Infrastructure upgrades have been a priority, with an unprecedented Rs 2,000 crore investment aimed at renovating existing facilities and constructing new buildings equipped with modern amenities such as smart classrooms, WiFi connectivity, CCTV surveillance and sustainable solar power solutions. The new East and West campuses—located near Karkardooma Court and Sector 21 metro station, Dwarka, respectively—are slated to become operational by September 2026, symbolising the university's expansion beyond its traditional North and South campuses.
Academic innovation is also at the forefront. The university has launched engineering programmes, marking its entry into technology education after decades of reliance on affiliated institutes. It has also expanded postgraduate offerings with new MA programmes in Korean and Chinese Studies, among others, reflecting a global and interdisciplinary outlook.
The implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has brought the introduction of four-year undergraduate programmes, enhancing academic flexibility and depth. Research output has flourished, with over 5,200 publications in 2024 and the highest H-Index among Indian universities, underlining its growing reputation as a hub of knowledge creation. The 'Institution of Eminence' status and government funding have accelerated investments in digital infrastructure and central research facilities.
Entrepreneurship is being nurtured through a dedicated startup incubator providing seed funding, mentorship and internships, and the Vice Chancellor Internship scheme connects bright students with industry and administrative roles, bridging academia and practical experience.
Admission reforms through a centralised entrance test ensure a level playing field for applicants across diverse educational boards nationwide, fostering meritocracy and diversity with a balanced gender ratio of 53 per cent female students.
As the University of Delhi celebrates more than a century of excellence, these comprehensive reforms and investments signal a dynamic new chapter.
—as told to Shelly Anand
CAMPUS NOTES | The launchpad of my dreams
By Jyoti Meena, MBA in Marketing and Strategy, Third Semester, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi
After completing my BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from Hindu College, I dedicated myself to preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Exam, reaching the interview stage in February this year. However, over time, I began to realise that while public policy fascinated me, I also wanted to experience its application from a corporate lens. That's when the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) became my natural next step.
FMS offered everything I needed: academic excellence, flexibility, an unbeatable alumni network and, most importantly, the Delhi location, which allowed me to manage my UPSC attempt alongside my course studies.
Academically, FMS keeps us on our toes. We tackle diverse courses—finance, IT, marketing, strategy—before specialising in year two. I chose marketing and strategy, and I'm also diving deep into government consulting. We're currently required to complete a dissertation.
What I love most about the FMS and DU ecosystem is its balance: it's rigorous, yes, but not suffocating. There's space for growth beyond textbooks—through case competitions, guest lectures and cultural clubs. Outside the classroom, I'm an executive member of the Public Policy Club, the first of its kind at FMS. We host guest lectures and policy conferences, and it's rewarding to create platforms where business students explore how policy intersects with the private sector.
As I look forward to my final semester, placements and beyond, I also look back at my time at FMS. It has been more than pursuing a degree—a pivot, a platform and, most of all, a launchpad.