Directorate Of Distance & Continuing Education Utkal University

This university is the mother university of Odisha. It was established on 27^th November 1943. The eminent personalities who worked together to establish this university are Pandit Godavarish Mishra, Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, Pandit Nilakantha Dash and other personalities in erstwhile Orissa. On its foundation day, this university started operating in Ravenshaw College (which is now a university), Cuttack. On 1^st January 1958, the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, took the honour of laying the foundation stone of this university, which is currently spread on a 400-acre campus. On 2^nd January 1963, the second President of India, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, inaugurated the current site at Vani Vihar.

In the early days, this organisation was for only affiliation and evaluation. With time, many post-graduate departments and facilities were constructed in the university campus. Currently, the university is affiliated to more than 300 colleges and governs 15 autonomous colleges. This university houses the Population Studies Centre, the Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy Study, the Ambedkar Study, the School of Women’s Studies, a preschool, a high school, an academic staff college, two constituent law schools and 27 constituent post-graduate departments. In this university, many courses are self-financed.

This university is a part of the Indian Association of Universities and the Commonwealth Association of Universities. It is a University Grants Commission (UGC)-recognised university. In December 2017, NAAC has accredited Utkal University for a 5-year slot with an A+ grade.

The process to apply and get selected to this university has the following features:

• The admission is on a ‘first-come first-serve’ basis.
• The university will give admission to all eligible SC and ST students with the only condition that they should take admission by the due date.
• The PG Council, Utkal University has reserved some seats for the courses on the condition that the applicants must clear the entrance tests.