Bharathiar University is in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The Government of Tamil Nadu established it in February 1982 under the Bharathiar University Act, 1981, building on the former Postgraduate Centre of the University of Madras, and the University Grants Commission recognised it for grants in 1985. It is an affiliating university whose jurisdiction covers Coimbatore, Erode, Tirupur and The Nilgiris districts.
According to its About page, the university has 39 departments offering 54 postgraduate programmes, plus MPhil and PhD programmes, and 147 affiliated colleges. Its NIRF 2026 data submission reports 3,156 students in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes on its own rolls in 2024-25, plus 551 full-time and 179 part-time PhD students. NAAC accredited it with an A++ grade in its fourth cycle. The university is currently administered by a Vice-Chancellor committee.