Marking the five hundred birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji, the great saint of the Sikh Community, the college of the same name was set up under the supervision of the Guru Nanak Educational Society, Chennai. Guru Nanak College was established as a 1st grade college in Chennai city, Tamil Nadu in 1971. It is housed within a building in a land near Raj Bhavan, Guindy, encompassing an area of 20 acres. The Tamil Nadu Government had gifted this plot of land. The college was formed with the noble mission of spreading the ideals of Universal Brotherhood, Oneness of god, Communal Harmony and values related to welfare of all communities. The college runs as a minority college as per Article 29 and 30 of Indian Constitution.

Situated in Velachery, Tambaram Road, Guru Nanak College provides a calm environment that is ideal for intellectual pursuits of the younger generation. The college possesses good infrastructure, with a team of devoted and qualified faculty members who strive to their level best, thereby inculcating leadership qualities and social awareness in the students` minds. Guru Nanak College can be acclaimed as a premier institution of Tamil Nadu, especially in Chennai. National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has assigned 5 star status on the college. Affiliated to University of Madras, Guru Nanak College is an institute that imparts education in co-educational mode. Due to its excellent infrastructure, the management also had taken the decision of establishing the Evening Section in 1981, thus catering to the demands of the students living in the southern part of the city. While the Day College comes under the grant with aid from Tamil Nadu Government, the evening section falls under the category of unaided self-financing mode. Although students of Sikh community are preferred, students from other religion, caste and creed are also invited to join Guru Nanak College.

Undergraduate courses that are offered include-- B.A. Economics (Day Only), B.Com (Day & Evening), B.Com. In Corporate Secretaryship (Day & Evening), B.Com in Accounting & Finance (Evening Only), B.A in Defense and Strategic Studies (Day Only) B.Sc. in Mathematics (Day & Evening), B.Sc. in Physics (Day Only), B.Sc. in Chemistry (Day Only), B.Sc. in Plant Biology and Biotechnology (Day Only), B.Sc. in Advanced Zoology & Biotech (Day Only) B.Sc. in Electronic Media (Evening Only), B.Sc. in Visual Communication (Evening Only). The Postgraduate courses include-- M.A. in Economics (Day only), M.Sc. in Chemistry (Day & Evening), M.Com. (Day only), M.Sc. in Bioinformatics (Evening only). One also can pursue research programmes like Ph.D in Commerce (Full-Time), Ph.D. in Economics on full time basis. Ph.D in Defense & Strategic Studies also is offered on a part time basis.

The Departments of Guru Nanak College comprises four parts - arts, science, commerce and languages. The Art departments are-- Economics, Corporate Secretaryship, Defense. Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Zoology, Bio Informatics, Electronic Media, Visual Communication are the names of the Science departments. The Department of Physical Education was formed in 1971 with the aim of developing interest of sports and games amongst the students.

Due to the initiative of college authorities, attention is given on an overall development of personality. In this regard, extra-curricular activities that the college organises prove to be very effective. Various associations also have been formed, keeping this objective in mind. Curriculum Development Associations (CDA) are present for fostering the talents of students in several activities like debates, seminars, oratories, essay writing and quiz competitions. Names of these associations are enlisted in the following-Tamil Association, English Association, English Literary and Debating Association, Hindi Association, Mathematics Association, Physics Association, Chemistry Association, Zoology Association, Botany Association, Defense and Strategic Studies Association, Corporate Secretaryship Association, Commerce Association, Economics Association and Fine Arts Association.

In addition, few more clubs and forums have been created in order to initiate responsibility and sensitivity of the students of Guru Nanak College. The rotaract club of the college fosters managerial skills and administrative talents amongst the students. Interested students can join the club in lieu of a membership fee. The Youth Red Cross (YRC) started functioning in 1999 for nurturing a sense of social responsibility amongst the students. The Women Students Forum (WSF) is apt for joining if students want to actively participate in programmes that enhance their talents, skills and artistry.

Guru Nanak College has a playground for facilitating sports and games, encircling a total area of 7 acres. One also can enjoy playing indoor and outdoor games. The fields and courts that are available for students include-400m tracks with six lanes, football ground, field for playing hockey, volleyball court, kabadi court, badminton court, tennis courts, basketball court. An auditorium has been built exclusively for organising indoor games, like badminton, table tennis, carom, chess and weight lifting. Several students have represented the University, State and the country in different games.

The Guru Nanak College library came into existence along with the establishment of the college in 1971. It has a huge college of more than 21,500 volumes, forty journals and periodicals, along with 1500 reference books. The library also offers internet facilities and photocopying service. In fact amongst all the college libraries of Chennai city, the library of Guru Nanak College had received the award of the `best maintained library`, during 1999-2000. The Alumni Association boosts all the existing students, to illustrate good performance in the field of education and sports. The alumnus also felicitates the best outgoing students and the best sportsman of the year, on special occasions like college day and sports day. The Guru Nanak College canteen is an ideal hub for fulfilling interaction with the students. The canteen serves vegetarian food and crispy snacks.

Hostel facility is available for all the male students who stay outside Chennai. Men`s hostel can provide accommodation to nearly seventy-five students at a time. Individual blocks are allocated for all students, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Healthy vegetarian food is served from the kitchen of the hostel.