Anna University is one of India's premier engineering universities. Established in 1978, it offers higher education in Engineering, Technology and Allied Sciences.
Anna University was formed on 4 September 1978 as a unitary type of university. It integrated 4 well-known technical institutions in the city of Chennai (previously known as Madras), the oldest of which was the College of Engineering, Guindy, started in 1794. Perarignar Anna University of Technology (PAUT) was the original name used in 1978. In 1982 the current name of Anna University was coined removing the words "Perarignar" and "Technology". In December 2001, it was converted into an affiliating university, with almost all engineering colleges in the state of Tamil Nadu under its fold and also absorbing all the 6 government engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu as its constituent colleges. It is also ranked tenth (10) by the Outlook India magazine for the year 2007 in the top 50 government engineering colleges in India.
The University's main campus is situated in the southern part of Chennai and extends over 100 acres (400,000 m²) adjoining the Adyar River and the Raj Bhavan. It contains the College of Engineering,the Alagappa College of Technology, and the School of Architecture and Planning. The campus also houses three technical departments of the University of Madras. The Madras Institute Of Technology at Chromepet constitutes the second campus and extends over 200,000 m². The third campus of the University is located at Taramani near the Instronic campus, Adyar.
In 1978 the following colleges/schools were taken over by the university as its constituent colleges
* College of Engineering, Guindy
* Alagappa College of Technology
* Madras Institute of Technology
* School of Architecture and Planning
In Jan 2001 the following 6 government engineering colleges were also taken over by the university as its constituent colleges
* Government College of Technology, Coimbatore
* Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology,Karaikudi
* Government College of Engineering Salem
* Government College of Engineering Tirunelveli
* Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology Vellore
* Government college of engineering bargur
A recent Bill (2007) for taking over these 6 constituent colleges back again as government colleges is pending approval. The Anna University Amendment Act of 2001 brought almost all Engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu under the University. This includes 6 Government Engineering colleges, 3 government-aided private institutions, and 225 Self-Financing Colleges.
