DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITIES

An institution of higher education, other than a university, doing the work of high standard in a specific area, can be declared as an institution deemed to be university. The section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 provides that the Central Government may, on the advice of the Commission, declare, by notification in the Official Gazette that any institution of higher education, other than a university, shall be deemed to be a university for the purpose of this Act and on such a declaration being made, all the provisions of this Act shall apply to such institution as if it were a university under the meaning of clause (f) of section 2 of the UGC Act.

Such institutions enjoy the academic status and privileges of a university. This status provides fillip to these institutions to strengthen their academic activities in their specialized fields. Deemed to be universities, like other universities, have the autonomy of offering various courses and therefore, preparing students for various examinations and awards. These institutions design their own syllabus and courses to prepare the students to foray into diverse fields after the completion of their study.

These Institutions have expanded the base of higher education in the country and are offering education and research facilities in various disciplines such as Health Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Management, Languages, Humanities & Social Sciences, Sciences, Education, Law, Agricultural Sciences, Fisheries, Forestry, Defence Technology, Maritime Education, Yoga, Music & Fine Arts, etc.

The UGC is determined to introduce accountability and transparency in the processing of applications for grant of the status of deemed to be university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956. The UGC has, therefore, placed all the information regarding status of such applications on its website alongwith the performance and academic outputs of the existing Deemed to be Universities.

As on 31.10.2019, there are 126 Deemed to be Universities in the country, out of which 40 are Central/State Government controlled and 86 are self-financing. UGC is providing Development and Maintenance assistance to 21 Identified Deemed to be Universities under various schemes/programmes.

Existing Deemed to be Universities

Off-Campuses Centre Eligibility Criteria
  1. (i) Category I (NAAC 3.51 & above) & Category II (NAAC 3.26 to 3.50) Deemed to be Universities OR ranked from 1-50 in the current NIRF rankings can start off-campuses with the approval of the Government of India
  2. (ii) Off-campuses to have the following:-
    1. (a) Teacher student ratio – 1:20
    2. (b) Faculty strength – Not less than 25
    3. (c) Minimum 500 students under regular class room out of which not less than one third being PG/research students
    4. (d) At least 3 PG departments with research programmes
    5. (e) Built up area – Not less than 30 sq. mts. per students – Academic buildings, library, lecture hall, laboratories, hostels, faculty residences, health care, common and recreational facilities
  3. (iii) Category I or 1-50 NIRF can have only three off-campuses in a period of five years- Not more than one campus in one academic year.
  4. (iv) Category II or 1-50 NIRF can have only two off-campuses in a period of five years- Not more than one campus in one academic year.
Off-Shore Campuses Centre Eligibility Criteria
  1. Category I (NAAC 3.51 & above) Deemed to be Universities can start off-shore campuses with the approval of the MEA, MHRD and MHA.

Apply For Deemed to be University Status

General Category - Eligibility Criteria
Clause Eligibility Criteria
4.01(i) The applicant institution should be in existence for 20 years
4.01(ii) Valid accreditation by NAAC with at least 3.26 CGPA for 3 consecutive cycles
OR
in case of technical institution, two-third of the eligible technical programmes accredited by NBA
4.01(iii) NIRF ranking at the time of application – top 50 in specific category
OR
top 100 of overall ranking
4.01(iv) Demonstrated the characteristics of a University through multi-disciplinary courses
4.01(v) Annual per faculty publication in SCOPUS, Web of Science or Peer-reviewed journals as per UGC reference list - Not less than 2 per year per faculty
4.01(vi) Teacher student ratio shall not be less than 1:20
4.01(vi) Faculty strength of not less than 100
4.01(vi) Minimum 2000 students on roll under regular class room out of which one-third being PG/research students
4.01(vi) At least five PG Departments in existence for at least 3 years with research programme
4.01(vii) Shall possess such academic and physical infrastructure as may be prescribed by the Commission and/or the relevant statutory bodies
4.01(viii) Built up area – Not less than 30 sq. mts. per students – academic buildings, library, lecture hall, labs, hostels, faculty residence, health care, common, recreational facilities
4.02 Corpus Fund – Rs. 10 crore in the name of the proposed Deemed to be University by way of irrevocable Government Securities
General Category - Documents to be uploaded in the on-line application
Clause Documents
5.02(i) Land ownership documents in the name of the proposed Deemed to be University or the sponsoring body
5.02(ii) NAAC/NBA accreditation certificate
5.02(iii) Approval from relevant statutory bodies for professional courses
5.02(iv) Information alongwith evidence regarding existing academic and physical infrastructure
5.02(v) Institution Development Plan consisting of the strategic vision for a 5 year period along with a rolling plan of its implementation covering academic, research, infrastructural, financial and governance plans
5.02(vi) Details of the corpus fund created
5.02(vi) Details of the financial sustainability of the institution
5.02(vii) In case funded by the State/Central Government, a letter of commitment from the respective Government to continue financial support to the institution even after declaration as a Deemed to be University
5.02(viii) Copies of the documents uploaded on the Commission’s web portal shall also be publicly disclosed on the website of the institution, duly certified by the Head of the institution
10.01 The proposed Deemed to be University shall be registered as a not for profit Society/Trust/Company
Sponsoring body exclusively established for running educational institutions shall be exempted from registering a separate society/trust/company
There is no need to transfer the assets from sponsoring society/trust/company to the proposed Deemed to be University provided that the body provides notarized affidavit to the effect that the entire moveable and immoveable assets allocated to the Deemed to be University shall not be leased or otherwise disposed off without the prior permission of the UGC and also that all expansion in the future shall be undertaken by the society/trust/company exclusively established for Deemed to be University.
MoA/Rules in accordance with the UGC Regulations, 2019

Two categories under de-novo – Existing and new Government Institution can apply. Private sponsoring bodies can apply only for Greenfield institutions. Existing self-financing institutions are not eligible.

De-novo Category - Eligibility Criteria
Clause Eligibility Criteria
2.07 De-novo institution means an institution with the focus on teaching and research in unique and emerging areas of knowledge
2.08 Emerging area of knowledge in the context of de-novo institutions means such specialized/niche areas of knowledge which are considered desirable and useful and not usually imparted in the country
6.04.1 Any sponsoring body, with a proven track record in education, can submit application on-line for setting up new Institution Deemed to be University devoted to study and research in unique and emerging areas of knowledge not being pursued by existing institution
4.02 Corpus Fund – Rs. 25 crore in the name of the proposed Deemed to be University by way of irrevocable Government Securities
De-novo Category - Documents to be uploaded in the on-line application
Clause Documents
6.04.2(a) A detailed Project Report (DPR) containing its 15 year detailed Strategic Vision Plan and a 5 year rolling implementation plan viz. Academic Plan, Faculty Recruitment Plan, Students Admission Plan, Research Plan, Networking Plan, Infrastructure Development Plan, finance Plan, Administrative Plan governance Plan, etc. with clear annual milestones and action plans on how the new Deemed to be University is to be set up, with identifiable outputs and outcomes
6.04.2(b) Details of the land in possession for establishing the institution along with the title documents
6.04.2(c) Details of the Corpus Fund created
6.04.2(c) Details of the financial sustainability of the institution
6.04.2(d) Details of the Sponsoring Body; along with the key academic and administrative personnel
6.04.2(e) Undertaking to the effect that it shall abide by all provisions of UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2019
6.04.2(f) In case funded by the State/Central Government, a letter of commitment from the respective Government to continue financial support to the institution even after declaration as a Deemed to be University
10.01 The proposed Deemed to be University shall be registered as a not for profit Society/Trust/Company
Sponsoring body exclusively established for running educational institutions shall be exempted from registering a separate society/trust/company
There is no need to transfer the assets from sponsoring society/trust/company to the proposed Deemed to be University provided that the body provides notarized affidavit to the effect that the entire moveable and immoveable assets allocated to the Deemed to be University shall not be leased or otherwise disposed off without the prior permission of the UGC and also that all expansion in the future shall be undertaken by the society/trust/company exclusively established for Deemed to be University.
MoA/Rules in accordance with the UGC Regulations, 2019

State wise bar chart for 126 Deemed to be Universities

"[{\"no_of_university\":4,\"State\":\"Andhra Pradesh\"},{\"no_of_university\":1,\"State\":\"Arunachal Pradesh\"},{\"no_of_university\":1,\"State\":\"Assam\"},{\"no_of_university\":1,\"State\":\"Bihar\"},{\"no_of_university\":1,\"State\":\"Chandigarh\"},{\"no_of_university\":8,\"State\":\"Delhi\"},{\"no_of_university\":3,\"State\":\"Gujarat\"},{\"no_of_university\":6,\"State\":\"Haryana\"},{\"no_of_university\":1,\"State\":\"Jammu and Kashmir\"},{\"no_of_university\":1,\"State\":\"Jharkhand\"},{\"no_of_university\":15,\"State\":\"Karnataka\"},{\"no_of_university\":3,\"State\":\"Kerala\"},{\"no_of_university\":1,\"State\":\"Madhya Pradesh\"},{\"no_of_university\":21,\"State\":\"Maharashtra\"},{\"no_of_university\":3,\"State\":\"Orissa\"},{\"no_of_university\":1,\"State\":\"Puducherry\"},{\"no_of_university\":2,\"State\":\"Punjab\"},{\"no_of_university\":7,\"State\":\"Rajasthan\"},{\"no_of_university\":28,\"State\":\"Tamil Nadu\"},{\"no_of_university\":4,\"State\":\"Telangana\"},{\"no_of_university\":9,\"State\":\"Uttar Pradesh\"},{\"no_of_university\":3,\"State\":\"Uttarakhand\"},{\"no_of_university\":2,\"State\":\"West Bengal\"}]"