The Punjab University (previously named University of the Punjab) was founded in 1882 at Lahore as the fourth teaching and affiliating University on the Indian subcontinent under British rule. After partition and initial dislocation, the University shifted to Chandigarh in 1956. Its red sand stone campus, designed by renowned French architects, came up within a few years.

When the re-organization of Punjab took place in 1966, the university continued to be located in Chandigarh. It was declared as an Inter-State Body Corporate, since it served not one state but the entire region north of Delhi, continuing to draw students from the States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, and beyond.

More than one hundred colleges are now affiliated to Panjab University - majority are affiliated for Bachelor’s Degree in arts, sciences and commerce. Out of these, 29 offer post graduation classes in both science and arts streams.

To the postgraduate and undergraduate students in its teaching departments at Chandigarh (the latter only in Honours School in Science), the University offers a beautifully laid out compact campus with modern amenities in a pollution-free environment. With its most modern laboratories and equipment, and on of the largest libraries in Asia, the Punjab University offers tremendous opportunities to its students who interact with students from all over India and abroad.