Alagappa University is a state government university in Karaikudi, Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu. It was established by an Act of the Tamil Nadu State Legislature in May 1985 as a unitary university and became an affiliating university in 2002. It grew out of institutions founded in the 1950s by Dr. RM. Alagappa Chettiar.
The university has 44 departments, three academic centres and two constituent colleges on its campus, and 45 affiliated colleges in Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts. It teaches through four faculties: arts, science, education and management. Its campus covers 435.98 acres across the main campus and a campus at Thondi. NAAC accredited it A++ (CGPA 3.59) in its fourth cycle as a dual mode university, and the UGC lists it in Category I.