India's premier postgraduate research university, ranked #2 nationally, with 13 schools across 1000 acres.
JNU operates 13 Schools including Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship, School of Biotechnology, School of International Studies, School of Social Sciences, and School of Language Literature and Culture Studies, among others. The university also maintains 9 Special Centres focusing on specialized research areas. The institution emphasizes interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches, with Schools visualized as communities of scholars from various disciplines linked organically by subject-matter, methodology, and problem areas. Academic programmes span undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels.
The university campus spans 1000 acres of undulated terrain in New Delhi (110 067). It features 19 hostels named after Indian rivers (Barak, Brahmaputra, Ganga, Yamuna, etc.), providing residential facilities for students. The campus is described as a lush green estate with diverse flora and fauna, including peacocks and nilgais, and serves as a birdwatcher's paradise with dense forest areas. The residential nature of the university integrates student instructional and research activities beyond classroom hours.
JNU conducts admissions for undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes. The university publishes e-Prospectuses for UG and COP (2026-27), PG and ADOP (2026-27), and PhD programmes (2025-26). Admission tests are held simultaneously at centres across various parts of India to ensure accessibility. The university has an International Students admission pathway and maintains an Admission Policy. Prof. Suneel Kateriya serves as Director of Admissions.
JNU is primarily focused on postgraduate teaching and research, with emphasis on strengthening interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches. The university hosts various research initiatives including the Transdisciplinary Research Cluster (TRC), Institutional Ethics Review Board (IERB), and Intellectual Property Management Cell (IPMC). Faculty research output is tracked through JNU IRINS (Faculty Profile system), and the university maintains repositories like Shodhganga and Shodhgangotri for research dissemination.