Main campus

Jadavpur University has its main campus located at Jadavpur on 60 Acres area. The campus contains major engineering, arts and science departments.

KP Basu Memorial Hall

Gandhi Bhaban from outside

The main campus have 7 auditoriums: H.L. Roy Auditorium, Triguna Sen Auditorium, K.P. Basu Memorial Hall, Vivekananda Hall, Anita Banerjee Memorial Hall and Gandhi Bhavan. The campus has an Open Air Theatre and an indoor stadium for recreational activities.

The playground along with Aurobindo Bhaban in the back

The 6 Acres sports complex have badminton Court, tennis Court and playground for other organising sports like cricket and football.

Additionally the university has an six canteens, amenities center, and guest house, cafeteria, health centre, gymnasium, Pwd centre and other facilities like banks, post office, book shops etc.^[1]

Salt Lake campus

Canteen in the Salt Lake campus

New Town campus

Jadavpur University Newtown campus is under construction. State-of-the-art facilities along with laboratories and a convention centre are planned on the 5 acre campus.^[7]

Affiliated institutes

In addition to being a unitary university, it has other institutes like the J D Birla Institute, and the Institute of Business Management affiliated to it, which operate out of independent campuses.^[16] While these institutes have their own independent curriculum as well as examination systems, the final degree is offered by Jadavpur University.

Departments and schools

To facilitate interdisciplinary learning and research in diverse fields, there are a number of schools.

In March 2011, Indian American scientist Manick Sorcar assisted in the opening of a laser animation lab under the School of Illumination Science, Engineering and Design.^[17]

Centre for Studies

To facilitate interdisciplinary learning and higher research in diverse fields, there are nearly fifty Centre for Studies.^[18]

Library

The Central Library at Jadavpur campus occupies 41,500 square feet (3,860 m²) and houses 6,46,296 books, 80,700 bound volumes of journals, and 13000 theses and dissertations, 37,000 items of non-book materials such as reports pamphlets, maps and micro-forms and 1159 print and 1448 online journals. The library also has access to around 3000 online journals more through INFLIBNET and INDEST Consortia. In total, the University Library has access to around 11000 Journals.The library subscribes to 30 databases which include Scopus, Econlit etc. and also about 10000+ E-books (as of 2018). The Salt Lake campus has a library with 65,00 sq. ft. of space.^[20]

Notable works

Some of the major research ventures undertaken by these schools include the pioneering work done by the School of Environmental Studies in highlighting the presence of arsenic in groundwater in countries like India and Bangladesh and the development of the first alcohol based car by the School of Automobile Engineering.^[21][22]

2014 Jadavpur University Protests

Students rally against the vice-chancellor during the 2014 Jadavpur University protests

In 2014 a series of protests broke out in response to the alleged molestation of a female student and beating of a male student by 10 other students on 28 August 2014. Her family and ultimately the student body were unsatisfied by the response of the Vice Chancellor to the allegations. Protests began on 10 September.^[45] On 16 September students gheraoed several officials in their offices, demanding that the Vice Chancellor make a statement on the status of a fair probe. Police were summoned, and later that night the police allegedly attacked and beat the student demonstrators. 30 to 40 students were injured; some had to be hospitalized. Reaction was nationwide, with supportive protests at multiple other cities including New Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. On 20 September, Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who is also the chancellor of the university, met with student representatives and promised to conduct an impartial inquiry.^[46] However, students said they will continue to boycott classes until the Vice Chancellor resigns.^[45]

On 26 September, a State Government inquiry panel submitted its report, confirming that the female student had indeed been sexually abused on 28 August 2014.^[47] On 26 September, police summoned two Jadavpur University students to come to the Lalbazar Police HQ for questioning at 4 pm on Friday. They were arrested at 6 pm. "The arrests were made after evidence was found, prima facie, against the duo. Further investigation is on," said joint CP-crime Pallab Kanti Ghosh.^[47] Mr Ghosh also stated, "(Two names) were arrested because we had enough evidence to prove that they were present at the spot and had carried out the crime as alleged in the victim's complaint."^[48] The duo were booked under Sections of 354 (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) of the IPC.^[48]

2018 Scrapping Entrance Tests

JU got embroiled in controversy on 4 July 2018, when the executive council announced its decision to scrap entrance tests for six humanities subjects which was met with protests from the Jadavpur University Teacher's Association and the student unions along with other academics and university students due speculations that state education ministry had influenced this decision.^[49]

2023 ragging allegations

In August 2023, Swapnadip Kundu, a 17 year old freshman student studying an Honours course in Bengali fell from the balcony of the second floor of the Jadavpur University Hostel - either by suicide or by murder - after intense ragging. The Kolkata Police have arrested several students and alumni who are suspected to have been involved.^[50] The incident has left a deep impact on the general public, leading to a high outcry against an internalized ragging culture that thrives within the university. Huge media attention has also been given to the need for strengthening security measures within the university, a suggestion that has been vehemently opposed by certain sections of Jadavpur University's political circles. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who was upset, has directed the Higher Education Committee of West Bengal to form a team to investigate the incident. As the student happened to be a minor, the incident has also been taken up by the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR). Amidst the investigation, Jadavpur University students have begun protests against ragging. The public scrutiny has managed to bring to light some systemic issues with the university, such as the security-free campus, unrestricted access of outsiders and the abuse of narcotics and alcohol within the university campus. Some political circles continue to oppose and stage protests against corrective measures, such as the installation of CCTV cameras on campus.^[51]