About Visva Bharati University
Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan was founded in 1921 by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore as Visva-Bharati Sangha, and was incorporated as a Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament — the Visva-Bharati Act 1951. The university is one of the oldest and most culturally significant universities in India, with the Prime Minister of India serving as its Paridarshaka (Visitor) and the President of India as its Pradhana (Chancellor). The main campus is located at Santiniketan, Birbhum district of West Bengal, on the banks of the Kopai river — a setting that inspired Tagore's pedagogical vision. The Santiniketan campus was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023.
Visva-Bharati is organised into eleven Bhavanas (institutes) — Kala-Bhavana (Fine Arts), Sangit-Bhavana (Music & Dance), Vidya-Bhavana (Humanities & Social Sciences), Siksha-Bhavana (Sciences), Vinaya-Bhavana (Education), Cheena-Bhavana (Chinese Studies), Hindi-Bhavana, Bhasha-Bhavana (Indo-Tibetan Studies & Modern Languages), Palli-Samgathana Vibhaga (Rural Reconstruction at Sriniketan), Palli-Siksha-Bhavana (Agriculture) and Rabindra-Bhavana (Tagore Studies & Museum). Flagship programmes include BA/MA in Bengali, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Indo-Tibetan, Chinese, History, Philosophy, Geography, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Education, Rural Development; BFA/MFA in Fine Arts, Sculpture, Graphic Arts, Design History; BMus/MMus in Hindustani Vocal/Instrumental/Rabindra Sangeet; Bachelor & Master of Performing Arts (Kathak/Manipuri/Dance); BSc/MSc in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Statistics, Biotech, Environmental Sciences; BTech in Computer Science / Electronics; MBA Rural Management; BEd/MEd; and PhD across all schools. Admissions are made via CUET UG/PG for most programmes, with practical/performance tests for fine arts and music.
Visva-Bharati is NAAC accredited and is ranked among India's top central universities. The Santiniketan-Sriniketan twin campus draws international students through programmes at Cheena-Bhavana, Hindi-Bhavana, Indo-Tibetan Studies, and the Tagore Studies Centre. Notable alumni include Indira Gandhi, Satyajit Ray, Amartya Sen (Nobel Laureate, Economics), Mahasweta Devi, Suchitra Mitra and many leading artists of Bengal. The campus offers separate hostels for boys and girls, central library with rare Tagore manuscripts, the world-renowned Poush Mela and Basanta Utsav festivals, the Rabindra-Bhavana archive and museum, and academic exchange programmes with universities in China, Japan, Bangladesh and Europe.
Application fee: ₹750 (General) / ₹350 (Reserved) · Official site ↗