Mahatma Gandhi University was established on 2 October 1983 and is constituted under the Mahatma Gandhi University Act, 1985. Its main campus is the 110-acre Priyadarsini Hills campus at Athirampuzha, about 12 kilometres from Kottayam in Kerala. Its jurisdiction covers the revenue districts of Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki and parts of Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha.
According to its Overview page, the university teaches through 30 university departments and a range of inter-university, inter-school, national and international centres, and has government, aided and unaided affiliated colleges and 225 recognised research centres. Its NIRF 2026 data submission reports 3,097 students in its own undergraduate, postgraduate and integrated programmes in 2024-25, plus 677 full-time and 279 part-time PhD students. Prof. (Dr.) D. Mavoothu is Vice Chancellor.