The University of Mysore is a public state university located in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The University was founded during the reign of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore. The university opened on 27 July 1916, with the first chancellor being the Maharaja of Mysore and the first Vice Chancellor being H. V. Nanjundaiah. The University became the first outside the domain of the English administration in India, the sixth University in India as a whole, and the first ever University in Karnataka. It is a state University of the affiliating type, and became autonomous on 3 March 1956, when it gained recognition from the University Grants Commission.
The University encompasses 122 affiliated colleges and five constituent colleges (forming an aggregate of 53,000 students). In addition, the University has 37 postgraduate departments, 8 specialised research & training centres and 2 postgraduate centres that together offer about 55 regular academic programmes to 3,500 students. It also runs a number of employment-oriented diploma courses and certificate programmes.