Mahatma Gandhi University, one of the major Universities in Kerala, is a premier educational institution that strives to fulfill the higher educational needs of the people of Central Kerala. Set on the sprawling 110-acre Priyadarsini Hills Campus at Athirampuzha, 13 km off Kottayam, the University also has two satellite campuses in Kottayam. The University was established on 2nd October 1983 and has jurisdiction over the revenue districts of Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki and parts of Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha. The University conducts a range of programmes at the Undergraduate, Postgraduate, M Phil and Doctoral levels through its 17 University Departments, 1 International and Inter-University Centre, 7 Inter-University Centres, 10 Inter School Centres, 77 Govt./Aided Affiliated Colleges including10 Autonomous Colleges (of which 8 are Colleges with Potential for Excellence), 200 Unaided Affiliated Colleges and 273 Recognized Research Centres. It imparts education in the interdisciplinary as well as conventional disciplines of Science, Social Science and Humanities besides in the professional disciplines of Engineering, Technology, Legal Studies, Pedagogy, Pharmacy and Nursing.

The University is well known for the wide variety of specializations it offers for the various Under graduate, Post graduate and Professional programmes through its affiliated colleges keeping pace with industry and market requirements. There are 52 specialisations for Bachelor of Arts (B.A), 43 for Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), 14 for Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), 8 for Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech), 27 for Master of Arts (M.A), 44 for Master of Science (M.Sc), 10 for Master of Commerce (M.Com) and 6 for Master of Technology (M.Tech) programmes.

At present, MGU offers research programme in forty disciplines through its own schools as well as its approved research centres. The University is also involved in active collaboration with research institutions of international reputation such as Max Plank Institute of Technology, Germany, Brown University, USA, California Institute of Technology, USA, University of Toronto, Canada, Catholic University, Belgium, Institute of Political Studies, France, University of Paris, Swinburne University, Australia. In order to provide opportunities for the students to acquire deeper insight into their subject of study Erudite scholar in Residence Programme was also initiated in which several Nobel Laureates are invited for direct interaction with them.

Mahatma Gandhi University was ranked 34th position in National Institution Ranking Frame Work (NIRF 2018) conducted by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt of India. Mahatma Gandhi University was ranked 11th position in IndiaToday–MDRA Ranking 2018. CSIR has ranked the University 13th in India in terms of intellectual productivity and NISTADS has rated it 19th in terms of h-index of the Science faculty. Recently university has secured 30 th position in NIRF ranking (April2019).