University of Madras

University of Madras, educational institution in Chennai (formerly Madras), capital of Tamil Nādu state, in southeastern India. The university was founded in 1857. Faculties include arts, science, law, teaching, medicine, engineering, Asian studies, technology, and commerce. The languages of instruction are English and Tamil.

Student enrollment in the university was 15,000 by 1904 and increased to about 108,000 by 1993. This growth was partly the result of an administrative plan to associate under the same university many academic institutions in the area. There are 22 constituent colleges within a 16-km (10-mi) radius of the main university and 127 affiliated colleges within Tamil Nādu.