University of Kerala, commonly referred to as Kerala University (KU, ISO: ) and formerly known as University of Travancore, is a public state university in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the university. C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the then Diwan (Prime Minister) of the State was the first Vice-Chancellor. It was the first university in Kerala, and among the first in the country. It is accredited by NAAC with highest grade of 'A++' and scored 3.67 points out of 4.
The university has over 150 affiliated colleges and has sixteen faculties and 43 Departments of teaching and research. The Governor of Kerala serves as the Chancellor of university.
History The history of the University of Kerala is integral to the history of the state itself. One of the first 16 universities in India, the University of Kerala was founded on November 1, 1937, as the University of Travancore in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore (now southern part of Kerala and some neighbouring parts of state of Tamil Nadu)."Pioneering Higher Education: State Initiatives by the Rulers of Modern Travancore", by B. P. Blessy and S. R. Saritha, Journal of Kerala Studies Vol. XLIX (2022) p.44 ISSN 0377-0443 ("After so many efforts, the dream came true with the establishment of Travancore University by a royal proclamation on 1st November 1937 by the then Maharaja." "Believe It Or Not, Kerala University Offered Einstein Rs 6,000 Job In 1937", IndiaTV, January 2, 2012 ("The University of Travancore, now Kerala University, came into existence on November 1, 1937 with King Chitira Tirunal Balarama Varma as Chancellor, mother-queen Sethu Parvathy Bai as pro-Chancellor and CP as Vice-Chancellor")
The university came into being by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the university. Sir C. P Ramaswamy Ayyar, the then Diwan (Prime minister) of the State was the first Vice-Chancellor. He was an eminent scholar and an able administrator. It has been written in Indian media that the Government made an unsuccessful attempt to invite Albert Einstein to be the first Vice-Chancellor."How India missed being Einstein home", The Telegraph (Kolkata), January 5, 2012 The university was modeled after the best Universities of the United Kingdom, and even today retains some of these features. The affiliating system of the university, however, evolved differently from the college system in British universities.
The earliest origins of the university may be traced back to two institutions of modern learning in Kerala – the University College Thiruvananthapuram and the Trivandrum Observatory. The University College was initially founded as the Maharaja's Free School by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal in 1834, with Mr John Roberts, a Christian Missionary as Headmaster, and soon grew into a college in 1866, affiliated to the Madras University. When the University of Travancore was founded, the departments of the college became University departments, only to switch back again when the transformation to University of Kerala happened in 1957. The University College still retains its connection with the university as an affiliated college. The Thiruvananthapuram Observatory was founded in 1838 and had an internationally reputed scientist, John Caldecott FRS as its first Director. It became a part of the Travancore University, but was administered as an independent government institution for some time. It is now the oldest institution under the Kerala University.
Organisation and administration Governance The Chancellor, the Pro-Chancellor, the Vice- Chancellor, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and the members of the Senate, the Syndicate and the Academic Council constitutes the governing body of the university. The Governor of Kerala is the Chancellor of the university while Education Minister of Kerala is the Pro-Chancellor of the university.
Affiliated colleges
Rankings University rankings General – India NIRF (Overall) (2025) 42 NIRF (Universities) (2025) 25 NIRF (State Public Universities) (2025) 5
Ranked 25th among universities, 5th among public state universities and 42nd overall by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2025. The QS World University Rankings ranked the university 339th in Asia in 2025.
International Students
The University of Kerala has received an unprecedented 2,620 applications from international students representing 81 countries for its academic programmes in 2025–26.The university currently hosts 205 international students from 52 countries, including Colombia, Peru, United Kingdom, and the United States of America, through ICCR scholarships and self-financing options.
Semester-in-India Programme (SIP)
The University of Kerala runs a Semester-in-India Programme (SIP) for American students, enabling them to study selected courses for one semester with credit transfer to their home institutions. The programme is governed by the university's Credit Transfer Regulations and Credit and Semester System (CSS) Regulations for foreign students. So far, three batches with a total of 23 students have completed the SIP, representing institutions such as St. Mary's College of Maryland, Grand Valley State University, George Mason University, Green Mountain College, Cornell University, Plymouth State University, Hendrix College, Berea College and Pacific University.
Academic collaborations with foreign universities
The University of Kerala has signed MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with up to 22 institutions across the globe. It includes University of Hartford, University of Warsaw, Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University.
Notable alumni
Notable alumni includes tenth President of India K. R. Narayanan, renowned theoretical physicist Thanu Padmanabhan, geneticist M. S. Swaminathan, ISRO former chairman G. Madhavan Nair, INSA scientist Perdur Radhakantha Adiga, former Supreme Court judges, Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice Fathima Beevi, legal luminary N. R. Madhava Menon, Indian film actor Mohanlal, Malayalam poets O. N. V. Kurup, Sugathakumari, Music composer G. Devarajan, historian M. G. S. Narayanan, cricketer Sanju Samson and many other eminent personalities.
Others A. K. Antony – 6th Chief Minister of Kerala and 25th Minister of Defence (India), Government of India Oommen Chandy – 10th Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan – 12th Chief Minister of Kerala. V. D. Satheesan - 13th Chief minister of Kerala and former opposition leader. Vayalar Ravi – Former Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India. Mullappally Ramachandran – Former Minister of Home Affairs, Government of India. P. J. Kurien- 11th Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan – Former Minister for Home Affairs, Government of Kerala. Ramesh Chennithala - former Minister for Home Affairs, Government of Kerala. T. M. Thomas Isaac – Former Minister for Finance, Government of Kerala. K. B. Ganesh Kumar – Minister for Transport, 15th Kerala Assembly, Government of Kerala. K. N. Balagopal – Minister for Finance, 15th Kerala Assembly, Government of Kerala. Veena George – Minister for Health, 15th Kerala Assembly, Government of Kerala. Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan – Former Revenue Minister, Government of Kerala. M. B. Rajesh – 23rd Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly. Adoor Prakash – Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Attingal Lok Sabha constituency. K. Sudhakaran – Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Kannur Lok Sabha constituency. N. K. Premachandran-Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Kollam Lok Sabha constituency. Rajmohan Unnithan – Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency. Benny Behanan – Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency. Anto Antony- Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency. Kodikunnil Suresh – Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency. Dean Kuriakose – Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Idukki Lok Sabha constituency. Francis George (politician) -Member of parliament, 18th Lok Sabha, Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency. Chandy Oommen – Member of the 15th Kerala Assembly. P. C. Vishnunadh – Member of the 15th Kerala Assembly. K. G. Balakrishnan – Former chief Judge of the Supreme Court of India . Alexander Thomas (judge) – Former judge of the High Court of Kerala. George Alencherry – Cardinal of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Baselios Cleemis – Cardinal of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Thomas Jessayyan Netto – Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum. Appu Kuttan – He has served as an advisor to American President Bill Clinton, India Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the President of Venezuela, and the Mauritius Prime Minister. T. V. Paul – Former president of the International Studies Association. P. K. Abdul Aziz – Former Vice chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya. Jacob Punnoose – Former Director general of police of Kerala. T. P. Senkumar – Former Director general of police of Kerala. Jija Madhavan Harisingh – She was the first woman IPS officer (Indian Police Service) from South-India (Karnataka cadre). Resul Pookutty – Oscar award winner. Ameer Shahul – Indian author and environmentalist. Ambalapuzha Gopakumar – Malayalam poet, historian, and writer from Kerala. C. V. Ananda Bose – 21st Governor of West Bengal. P. S. Sreedharan Pillai – 19th Governor of Goa. S. Venkitaramanan – 18th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. K. S. Chithra – Famous playback singer . Mammootty – Famous Malayalam actor . Thoppil Bhasi – Indian Malayalam language playwright, screenwriter, and film director. Venu Nagavally – Famous Malayalam actor & director. Adoor Gopalakrishnan – Indian Malayalam language screenwriter, and film director. Sreekumaran Thampi – Famous Lyricist. He has written over 3,000 songs for Malayalam Cinema. Murali (Malayalam actor) – Famous malayalam actor. Bharat Gopy – Famous Malayalam actor . Padmarajan – Famous Malayalam movie director . K. G. George – An Indian filmmaker and screenwriter who worked in the Malayalam cinema . Sibi Malayil – Famous Malayalam movie director . Blessy – Famous Malayalam movie director . Joshiy – Famous Malayalam movie director . Thilakan – Famous Malayalam actor . Nedumudi Venu – Famous malayalam actor. Sukumaran – Famous Malayalam actor . Karamana Janardanan Nair – Famous Malayalam Actor. Sudheer Karamana – Famous Malayalam Actor. Narendra Prasad – Famous Malayalam Actor. Fahadh Faasil – Famous Malayalam actor . Kunchacko Boban – Famous Malayalam actor . Murali Gopy – Famous Malayalam actor and screenwriter . M. Jayachandran – Indian composer, singer, and musician. Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma -Malayalam lyricist and poet. Prakash Varma – Famous Malayalam actor and advertisement director. Santosh Sivan – Famous Indian cinematographer . K. J. Yesudas – Famous Indian playback singer . M. G. Sreekumar – Famous Indian playback singer. P. Jayachandran – Famous Indian playback singer. G. Venugopal – Famous Indian playback singer . Prem Nazir – Famous Malayalam actor . Madhu (actor) – prominent lead actor during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and has acted in more than 400 films. Priyadarshan – Famous Indian director and screenwriter. Jacob Abraham- American computer scientist and engineer. T. K. A. Nair – Formerly served as adviser to the Prime Minister of India with the rank of the Minister of State. He also previously served as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister of India. R. Hari Kumar – He served as 25th Chief of the Naval Staff. S. Suresh Babu- Indian film screenwriter.