University of North Bengal
| Motto | samāno mantraḥ samitiḥ samānī |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Enlightenment to Perfection |
| Type | Public research university |
| Established | 1962 |
| Accreditation | NAAC |
Academic affiliations | |
| Budget | ₹135.50 crore (US$14 million) (FY2026–27 est.)[1] |
| Chancellor | Governor of West Bengal |
| Vice-Chancellor | Dwipayon Bhardwaj |
| Faculty | 228 faculty members (January, 2025)[2] |
| Students | 4,744 (2024-2025)[2] |
| Undergraduates | 435 (2024-2025)[2] |
| Postgraduates | 3,006 (2024-2025)[2] |
| 1,303 (2024-2025)[2] | |
| Location | Siliguri (HQ) , , India 26°42′34.03″N 88°21′14.96″E / 26.7094528°N 88.3541556°E |
| Campus |
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| Other Campuses | |
| Acronym | NBU |
| Website | www |
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The University of North Bengal (also North Bengal University, abbreviated as NBU) is a public state university in the North Bengal region of West Bengal, India. Its main campus is located in Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Its second campus is located in Danguajhar, Jalpaiguri in Jalpaiguri district and the third campus is located in Salt Lake, Kolkata. The university was established in 1962 by the Government of West Bengal. North Bengal University offers degrees in undergraduate, post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral programmes. It is accredited by NAAC with B++ grade.
History
[edit]
The University of North Bengal was established by The North Bengal University Act, 1961[3] passed by the Legislature of West Bengal and the university started functioning in 1962. It was the first university in the North Bengal region. It initially served the predominantly rural areas in the six North Bengal districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur, and the neighbouring state of Sikkim.
In 2007, Sikkim University was established and all colleges of Sikkim were affiliated to it. In 2008, the University of Gour Banga was established and almost all the 28 colleges in Maldah, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur (with the exception of Raiganj University College) were affiliated to it. In 2012-13, Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University was established with all the colleges of Cooch Behar district and Alipurduar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district affiliated to it.
The University of North Bengal presently has jurisdiction over the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri.
Campuses
[edit]The main campus is spread over an area of 330 acres (1.3 km2) and lies between Siliguri and Bagdogra Airport in the Terai region of Darjeeling district. The second campus is in Danguajhar, Jalpaiguri. The third campus is located in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
The university has an annual enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate students and more than 1,500 postgraduate students and scholars.
Organisation and administration
[edit]Governance
[edit]The Vice-chancellor of the University of North Bengal is the chief executive officer of the university. Currently, Dwipayon Bhardwaj is the Vice-Chancellor of the university.
| List of All Vice-Chancellors |
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Faculties and Departments
[edit]The University of North Bengal has 30 departments organized into two faculty councils.[4]
| Faculty of Science | |||
| Anthropology | Bio-Technology | Bioinformatics | Botany |
| Chemistry | Computer Science & Technology | Food Technology | Geography and Applied Geography |
| Geology | Mathematics | Microbiology | Pharmaceutical Technology |
| Physics | Tea Science | Zoology | |
| Faculty of Arts, Commerce & Law | |||
| Bangla | Commerce | Education | English |
| Hindi | History | Law | Library and Information Science |
| Lifelong Learning and Extension | Management | Mass Communication | Nepali |
| Philosophy | Sanskrit | Women's Studies | |
Centres
[edit]The university offers affiliation to research and academic centres on and off-campus.
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Affiliations
[edit]The university has several affiliated colleges spread over four districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, and one sub-division Islampur of Uttar Dinajpur district.
Academics
[edit]The University of North Bengal offers four-year (B.A./B.Sc./B.Com.) undergraduate degrees and a five-year B.A. LLB degree. It also offers two-year M.A., M.Com., M.B.A., M.Sc., M.C.A. and M.Pharm degrees, two-year MPhil degrees and PhD degrees.[6]
Accreditation
[edit]In 2022, the university was accredited with a CGPA of 2.82 on a seven point scale at "B++" Grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), valid for a period of 5 years.[7]
Museum
[edit]
The Akshaya Kumar Maitreya Heritage Museum incorporating the Raja Rajaram Museum Collection was established in the University of North Bengal in February 1965. The museum is now a repository for sculpture, coins, paintings and manuscripts among other things related to the history of North Bengal. It is also a regional museum and is one of the few university museums in India. It collects, preserves and studies archaeological relics discovered in the region.
Notable alumni
[edit]- Abdul Karim Chowdhury, former Minister of Mass Education Extension and Library Services in the Government of West Bengal
- Bhim Hang Limboo, Minister of Public Health Engineering of Sikkim
- Charu Majumdar, founder of the Communist Party of India
- Chokila Iyer, India's first female foreign secretary
- Danny Denzongpa, Indian actor, singer and film director
- Dipak Giri, Indian writer and academic
- Jyoti Prakash Tamang, Indian food technologist, microbiologist
- Mahima Chaudhry, Indian actress and model
- Parthasarathi Chakraborty, Indian environmental geochemist, a former senior scientist
- Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister of Sikkim
- Ranjan Ghosh (academic), Indian writer and academic
- Sabina Yeasmin, Indian Cabinet Minister of State
- Sanjay Hansda, Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India
- Sourav Chakraborty, Chairman of Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority
- Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, social worker, women's rights activist
- Subhasish Dey, hydraulician and educator
- Sukanta Majumdar, 10th President of Bharatiya Janata Party, West Bengal; Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
- Sumana Roy, Indian writer and poet
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Detailed Demands for grants for 2026-27 (PDF). Government of West Bengal. 2026. p. 188. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "NIRF 2026" (PDF). University of North Bengal.
- ↑ "The North Bengal University Act, 1961" (PDF). Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ↑ "University of North Bengal :: Siliguri :: West Bengal". nbu.ac.in. Archived from the original on 10 January 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ↑ Paul, Binita (10 May 2023). "North Bengal University, Indian army team up for new research centre to help defence forces". The Telegraph 10.05.23, 04:51 AM. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ↑ "University Programmes and all Departments of University of North Bengal". www.nbu.ac.in. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ↑ "UCycle310014". National Assessment and Accreditation Council. Retrieved 5 July 2017.[permanent dead link]
