Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam (University for Women) was founded in the year 1983 by Sri N.T.Rama Rao, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, with the fervent desire to train women students as better builders of the Nation and to inculcate skills of leadership in all aspects of life. The University was established under the Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam Act of 1983, which has come into force on the 14 of April 1983.
It was started with ten faculties and 300 students and twenty staff members. Today the University has a student population nearly 4000 and an academic staff of 105 and 131 academic consultants. This year the University has 59 courses at the post-graduate and undergraduate level and a good component of research. The campus of Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam is spread out in a lush green area of 129.85 acres. The University is situated at a distance of 3 km from the railway and bus stations of Tirupati. The campus has the necessary buildings to run its academic programmes and administrative machinery. There are separate buildings for Humanities and Sciences, University Administration, Central Library, University Auditorium, Sericulture Complex, and School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and also an independent building for Computer Science, Business Management and Engineering College.
The campus of Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam is spread out in a lush green area of 129.85 acres in a semi-urban Area at the foot of the sacred Tirumala Hills, Tirupati committed to the particular task of enabling higher education to women with a vision to enhance their quality of life. The University is situated at a distance of 3 km from the railway and bus stations of Tirupati. The campus is well equipped with the necessary buildings and infrastructural facilities to meet its academic programmes and administrative machinery. There are separate buildings for Humanities and Sciences, University Administration, Central Library, University Auditorium, Sericulture Complex, and School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and also an independent building for Computer Science, Business Management and Engineering College. The university also has ten residential facilities located on campus by providing 24 hours secured housing to 3000 plus students to facilitate higher education to women from the nook and corner of the State. It also has air conditioned Indirapriyadarshini auditorium with 1200 seating capacity, two Seminar halls with 200 and 100 seating capacity, Dhriti Multipurpose hall with 600 seating capacity and Senate hall with 50 seating capacity for the conduction of Seminars, Conferences or Meetings of Academic concern.
The University functions across four Schools viz., School of Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Management, School of Nursing and School of Engineering and Technology. There are 16 Departments offering 52 Programmes Options: 5 Postgraduate Diploma, 4 Undergraduate, 16 Postgraduate, 14 M.Phil and 14 Ph.D Programmes, International twinning programmes, ODL programmes to 5800 plus girl students and women covering the jurisdiction of entire Andhra Pradesh. The International twinning programmes offered in the campus are Indo-Sweden B.Tech degree, Music and Dance programmes in collaboration with TANA, Suswara and Raghavahini music academies,USA.
The University offers many professional programmes including programmes on Teacher Education, which is one of the pioneering Departments in the University. Department of Education was established in the year 1984. The programmes offered by the Department are M.Ed with 50 intake capacity, B.Ed. with 100 intake capacity (2 units) and B.Ed.Spl.(H.I) with 30 intake capacity along with M.Phil and Ph.D Programmes. The admission into B.Ed and B.Ed.Spl (H.I) are taken through APEdCET. The B.Ed and B.Ed.Spl.(H.I) are recognized by the apex bodies - National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI).Committed faculty with ever innovative programmes in Teacher Education has made admission into the Department much sought after by the girls from far and near. The alumnae of the department bagged placements from Primary School to University. They have also proved themselves in other Open and general arena too.
Remedial teaching for academically weaker students and pre-examination coaching for various competitive examinations and personality development programmes are the intrinsic qualities of the University to equip the women students for life and career. The University is enriched with the funds received from the UGC and State Government. It has to its credits many multidisciplinary research projects funded by R & D agencies like UGC, DST, DBT, ICSSR, ICMR, CSIR etc.,. Strong Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem with 4 Incubators namely; Technology Business Incubator (TBI) by DST,Women Biotechnology Incubation Faculty (WBIF) by DBT, Livelihood Business Incubator (LBI) by Ministry of MSME,Gol,Food Processing Incubator by Ministry of Food Technology, Gol and TOCIC – TePP outreach cum cluster Innovation centre by DSIR Prism are added credits to the University. It also has linkages with foreign Universities and national organizations of UK, Canada for staff development and women Entrepreneurship development.
The University has strong governance with 13-Member Executive Council, headed by Honble Vice-Chancellor (I/c), Prof. V. Uma and Prof. N. Rajani, is the Member Secretary of Executive Council and the Registrar.
The alumnae of the University are highly placed in various profession within and outside the country fulfilling the very moto “Gnanam Nirmochanam Streenam” of the University The University is accredited with “Grade A+” by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and International Certificate ISO.
