Madras University is a public state university in Chennai (formerly Madras), Tamil Nadu. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most important universities in India. The university was incorporated by an act of the Legislative Council of India. It is a collegiate research university and has six campuses in the city viz., Chepauk, Marina, Guindy, Taramani, Maduravoyal and Chetpet. Currently, there are 73 academic departments grouped into 18 schools, spanning diverse areas such as sciences, social sciences, humanities, management and medicine, along with 109 affiliated colleges and 52 approved research institutions.
The National Evaluation and Accreditation Council has awarded the "five stars" accreditation to the university and has received the status of "University with Potential of Excellence" by the University Grants Commission. The University of Madras is the alma mater of two Nobel prizes of Indian physics, five presidents of India, among them A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and several notable mathematicians including Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Madras University is the mother of almost all the ancient universities of South India. The area of jurisdiction of the University has, however, been limited to 3 districts of Tamil Nadu in recent years. This is a consequence of the establishment of several universities in the State and demarcation of university territories.