Universities of West Bengal are institutions, which offer specialization in various fields to students in India. West Bengal has many universities. These universities concentrate on providing high standard theoretical knowledge. The acquired knowledge is applied by the students in professional arena. The universities also provide all the necessary infrastructural facilities to the students. Some of these universities are described below.
University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta is situated in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is one of the oldest and largest public universities in India and has about 136 affiliated colleges, as of 2012. It was established on 24th of January, 1857. In India, it is known to be a "Five-Star University" and a "Centre with Potential for Excellence".
Jadavpur University
Jadavpur University is recognized as the second most important university in the city of Kolkata. It became an independent university in the year 1955. This public university has acquired the National Instruments Limited (CSIR), thereby becoming the first Indian university to acquire such a research unit. The university is semi-residential.
Visva-Bharati University
Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan is a central university. It was established with an aim of spreading Indian spiritualism and philosophy in the world. It aims at conferring Indian knowledge to the rest of the world through various academic disciplines. It has immense importance in the Indian society, as the university was founded by the great poet, prophet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore.
Rabindra Bharati University
Rabindra Bharati University is a well known university in Kolkata. It offers courses in fine arts and visual arts. It was established in 1961 to commemorate the contributions made by Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar to the society.
University of Burdwan
University of Burdwan is situated in Bardhaman, West Bengal. It was established in the year 1960. It is a teaching and affiliating institution and caters to the educational needs of over five districts namely, Bardhaman, Hooghly (excluding Serampore subdivision), Bankura, Birbhum and Purulia.
Netaji Subhash Open University
Universities in West Bengal have also undertaken several open education programmes. Netaji Subhash Open University is one such university that is similar to Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in terms of distance education. It was set up in the year 1997 in order to honor the birth centenary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Other Universities of West Bengal
The state of West Bengal has Burdwan University, Vidyasagar University and University of North Bengal, which cover the educational needs of students at district levels. University of North Bengal was set up with the aim of spreading knowledge in six north Bengal districts and also in the north eastern state of Sikkim. West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences imparts education in various branches of veterinary and animal sciences, along with dairy technology and fishery sciences. University of Kalyani spreads education in the interior areas of West Bengal such as the districts of Nadia, Murshidabad and parts of North 24 Parganas. Bengal Engineering and Science University is a prominent technical university in the state. Vidyasagar University at Midnapore provides courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Other institutes of national importance include the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (Kolkata), Indian Statistical Institute, National Institute of Technology (Durgapur) and West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences.
Institutes like Indian Statistical Institute, Indian Institute of Technology and Bengal Engineering and Science University impart courses in research training and undergraduate, graduate and doctoral courses in engineering disciplines and non-engineering disciplines.
