Tribhuvan University (TU; Nepali: त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. It offers 1,000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs across a wide range of disciplines. Additionally, the institution has 5 Institutes, 4 Faculties, 40 Central Departments. 64 constituent campuses 1,053 affiliated colleges and 4 Research Centers across the country.

History

Established on 25 June 1959 (or 11 Ashar 2016 BS), Tribhuvan University is the oldest and largest university in Nepal. The university was named after the late King Tribhuvan. In its early years, all the postgraduate classes were held at Tripureshwor Campus, where the administrative office was also located. It was only in 1967 that the university was relocated to its main campus in Kirtipur – an ancient town about 5km south-west of the city of Kathmandu. The university site, spread over 154.77 hectares, constitutes the Central Administrative Office and the Central Campus.

Academics

University Campus, TU
TU eastern entrance

Since its inception, the state-owned university has expanded its programmes. There are five technical institutes and four general faculties. The university offers 115 courses for the technical proficiency certificate level. TU offers 1079 courses at Bachelor's level and 1000 courses at Master's level. It offers PhD degrees in the technical institutes and faculties.

Tribhuvan University ran its programmes only through its constituent campuses before 1980. With the increasing number of students seeking higher education, it was not possible to accommodate all the students in the constituent campuses. This situation led to the establishment of colleges in the private sector because the constituent campuses alone could not meet the demand. From 1979 to 1980, TU started providing affiliation to private colleges. As of April 2016, 1,084 private and public colleges were affiliated with TU.

In the 2014–2015 academic session 405,341 students were enrolled in TU academic programmes. 148,141 (36.55%) students study in its 60 constituent campuses including 38 central departments, while 257,200 (63.45%) students study in 1,053 affiliated colleges.[citation needed]

Student enrollment and educational quality

Tribhuvan University is the leading University in Nepal. Many colleges are affiliated with Tribhuvan University. In 1971, all the community colleges were part of Tribhuvan University. The university has the largest number of full-time enrollments in the world. The 49th graduation ceremony of Tribhuvan University was on 18 December 2023, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The registrar of Tribhuvan University said more than 73000 students were graduating at that time. The significant number of graduates made Tribhuvan University hold a Guinness World Record.

Although the education system of Tribhuvan University has produced many graduates, many of them still need to get jobs in the market. They cannot find jobs in Nepal, so they go abroad to look for financial opportunities. Nepal's Public colleges are government-funded, and community colleges are privately funded. Both types of colleges are university-oriented and implement the university curriculum and university exam system. The university's education and services, such as business education, employment, training, and vocational education, are not up to date with new technology and career preparation.

TU has 8,841 teaching faculty and 7,413 non-teaching staff including the support staff in its constituent campuses. The number of total employees is 15,254.[citation needed]

Rankings

Tribhuvan University is ranked in the top 1201-1500 universities in the world as per the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2024, published by the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine. It is ranked among the 251-300 best universities of Asia. It is ranked at 6676 in the world and 2nd in the country as per the unirank University Ranking.

Technical institutes

The university administers its science and technology programs, such as BSc, BE, MBBS, etc., through its technical institutes. There are five technical institutes at the university, each taking care of a specific domain within the field of science and technology education.

Faculties and associated Central Departments

There are four faculties and a total of 40 associated central departments and 4 Research centers at the university:

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

  • Central Department of English
  • Central Department of Nepali
  • Central Department of Hindi
  • Central Department of Sanskrit
  • Central Department of Nepal Bhasha
  • Central Department of History
  • Central Department of Linguistics
  • Central Department of Buddhist Studies
  • Central Department of Sociology
  • Central Department of Psychology
  • Central Department of Anthropology
  • Central Department of Geography
  • Central Department of Economics
  • Central Department of Social Work
  • Central Department of Home Science
  • Central Department of Fine Arts
  • Central Department of Political Science
  • Central Department of Rural Development
  • Central Department of Population Studies
  • Central Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
  • Central Department of Library and Information Science
  • Central Department of Nepalese History, Culture and Archaeology
  • Central Department of International Relations and Diplomacy
  • Central Department of Conflict, Peace and Development Studies

Faculty of Education

  • Central Department of Education
  • Central Department of Curriculum and Evaluation
  • Central Department of Educational Planning and Management
  • Central Department of Health and Physical Education
  • Central Department of Mathematics Education
  • Central Department of Science Education
  • Central Department of English Education
  • Central Department of Nepali Education
  • Central Department of Geography Education
  • Central Department of History Education
  • Central Department of Economics Education
  • Central Department of Political Science Education

Faculty of Management

  • Central Department of Management
  • Central Department of Public Administration

Faculty of Law

  • Central Department of Law

Research centers

Tribhuvan University has the following research centers:

  • Centre for Economic Development and Administration (CEDA)
  • Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies] (CNAS), formerly called the Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies (INAS)
  • Research Center for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST)
  • Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development (CERID)

Schools

  • School of Mathematical Sciences
  • Graduate School of Education
  • School of Management
  • School of Foresty

Constituent campuses

TU has 64 constituent campuses;

CampusMunicipalityDistrictProvince
Bhojpur Multiple CampusBhojpurBhojpurKoshi
Dhankuta Multiple CampusDhankutaDhankuta
Mahendra Ratna Multiple CampusIllamIlam
Mechi Multiple CampusBhadrapurJhapa
Gaurahadaha Agriculture CampusGaurahadahaJhapa
Degree CampusBiratnagarMorang
Snatakottar CampusBiratnagarMorang
Biratnagar Nursing CampusBiratnagarMorang
Mahendra Morang Adarsh Multiple CampusBiratnagarMorang
Central Campus of Technology (Hattisar Campus)DharanSunsari
Mahendra CampusDharanSunsari
Purwanchal CampusDharanSunsari
Terhathum Multiple CampusAathraiTerhathum District
Ramswarup Ramsagar Multiple CampusJanakpurDhanushaMadhesh
Birgunj Nursing CampusBirgunjParsa
Thakur Ram Multiple CampusBirgunjParsa
Mahendra Bindeshwori Multiple CampusBishnupurSaptari
S. S. M. Y. Multiple CampusSirahaSiraha
Bhaktapur Multiple CampusBhaktapurBhaktapurBagmati
Sanothimi CampusMadhyapur ThimiBhaktapur
Birendra Multiple CampusBharatpurChitwan
Chitwan Engineering CampusBharatpurChitwan
Rampur Agriculture CampusKhairahaniChitwan
Amrit CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Bishwo Bhasha CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Lalitkala CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Maharajgunj Medical CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Maharajgunj Nursing CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Mahendra Ratna CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Nepal Commerce CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Nepal Law CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Padma Kanya Multiple CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Jana Prasashan CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Public Youth CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Ratna Rajya Lakshmi CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Saraswoti Multiple CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Shanker Dev CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Thapathali CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Tri-Chandra Multiple CampusKathmanduKathmandu
Ayurveda CampusKirtipurKathmandu
University CampusKirtipurKathmandu
Patan Multiple CampusLalitpurLalitpur
Pulchowk CampusLalitpurLalitpur
Hetauda (Forestry) CampusHetaudaMakwanpur
Dhawalagiri Multiple CampusBaglungBaglungGandaki
Gorkha CampusGorkhaGorkha
ToF, Pokhara CampusBharatpurKaski
Pashchimanchal CampusPokharaKaski
Pokhara Nursing CampusPokharaKaski
Prithvi Narayan CampusPokharaKaski
Lamjung CampusSundarbazarLamjung
Butwal Multiple CampusButwalRupandehiLumbini
Bhairahawa Multiple CampusSiddharthanagarRupandehi
Nepalgunj Nursing CampusNepalgunjBanke
Paklihawa CampusSiddharthanagarRupandehi
Tribhuvan Multiple CampusTansenPalpa
Mahendra Multiple CampusGhorahiDang
Mahendra Multiple CampusNepalgunjBanke
Jumla Multiple CampusChandannathJumlaKarnali
Surkhet Multiple CampusBirendranagarSurkhet
Dadeldhura Multiple CampusAmargadhiDadeldhuraSudurpashchim
Doti Multiple CampusDipayal SilgadhiDoti
Siddhanath Science CampusBhimdattaKanchanpur
Khaptad Engineering CampusDhangadiKailali

Organization

TU is government-financed but still an autonomous organization. The head of the government, the prime minister, is its chancellor.

  • Chancellor: Prime Minister of Nepal (Balendra Shah)
  • Pro-Chancellor: Minister of Education (Sasmit Pokharel)
  • Vice Chancellor: Prof. Dr. Deepak Aryal
  • Rector: Prof Dr. Khadga K.C.
  • Registrar: Prof. Dr. Kedar Rijal

Societies

Facilities

Controversies

Foreign academic equivalency controversy

In late 2025, Tribhuvan University faced criticism after Nepali students and education observers accused its Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) of granting academic equivalency to certificates from foreign institutions that were not legally authorised to award degrees in their home country. According to reporting in The Kathmandu Post, the CDC had issued equivalency for a Master’s in Business Administration in Hospitality from Britts Imperial University College, a Sharjah-based entity that students claimed was registered only as a training institute in the United Arab Emirates and not recognised by the UAE government as a degree-granting university.

Students organised under the banner “Scan the Scammers” asserted that the practice ran contrary to university directives, which state that equivalency should only be provided if qualifications are recognised or attested by the government of the country where classes were conducted. They demanded the revocation of equivalency certificates issued to unaccredited institutions and accountability from officials involved in the process. The controversy also drew attention to the role of overseas education consultancies in allegedly misrepresenting foreign training centres as accredited universities.

Following the allegations, Nepal’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology temporarily stopped issuing No Objection Certificates for students seeking to study at suspicious foreign institutions and urged prospective students to verify the accreditation status of overseas providers before enrolling. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also cautioned students about the credibility of institutions operating in UAE free zones, which often have limited academic oversight. These actions reflected broader concerns about foreign degree recognition and the quality assurance mechanisms of Nepal’s higher education system.

The free student union at Tribhuvan University

Tribhuvan University also has a free student union as another facility. This free student union has established the rights and interests of students who come to study at the university and to solve students' problems. The committee of the students' union has to be elected at the university. The university students who are affiliated with different political parties vote for their supporter leaders. The student union election is held every two years. Regardless of winning by embracing the idea of any party, the student union works to solve problems for all students.

Notable alumni

See also