The University of Jammu came into existence in the year 1969 vide Kashmir and Jammu Universities Act 1969 and has been accredited by the National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC) with A+ Grade (CGPA of 3.51) in its Cycle III, in 2016. The University of Jammu also secured 51st rank in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) conducted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in the year 2018, thus making it to the top 100 institutions of the country for three consecutive years, with 64th rank in 2016 and 63rd rank in 2017. As per the recent notification of the UGC issued on 12th February, 2018, on ‘Categorization of Universities for Grant of Graded Autonomy’, the University of Jammu is the only University in the State of J&K that has been granted full autonomy and has been declared as Category 1 University, based on the maintenance of standard of excellence. The University thus joins the elite group of 25 Category 1 Universities in the Country (amongst Central/State/Deemed Universities) and is one of the Twelve Category 1 State Universities of the country. This recognition and autonomy is expected to give further impetus to growth and development of the University as it provides the freedom to start new courses, set up new departments, admits foreign students, appoint foreign faculty and establish off campus centres and research parks, without having to approach the University Grants Commission. The University will also be able to enter into academic collaborations with the Universities world over and have the autonomy to attract and retain the best faculty, over and above the sanctioned faculty strength, by offering a higher incentive package. Apart from this, new courses through the Directorate of Distance Education can be offered without having to separately apply to the Distance Education Bureau. The Main Campus at Bahu Wali Rakh, with an area of 118.78 acres, houses the Teaching Departments, Centres, Administration Block, Examination Wing, College Development Council, Department of Students Welfare, Directorate of Distance Education, Central Library, Computer Centre, Health Centre, Guest House, Post Office, J&K Bank, Book shop, Transit accommodation, Gymnasium, Hostels, Cafeteria and Canteens, Residential quarters and many other facilities. The University has 36 teaching departments, 7 functional offsite campuses, 126 affiliated Colleges, Directorate of Distance Education and an Institute of Music and Fine Arts. University offers more than 130 programmes of study. These programmes include Undergraduate and Post Graduate Degrees, Post Graduate diplomas, M.Phil and Ph.D programmes. The University also offers certificate Courses including the recently introduced Skill Development Courses.