The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest universities in India, incorporated by an Act of Legislative Council of India under the British government.
It is a collegiate research university and has six campuses in the city: Chepauk, Marina, Guindy, Taramani, Maduravoyal and Chetpet. It offers more than 230 courses under 87 academic departments of post-graduate teaching and research grouped under 18 schools, covering diverse areas such as sciences, social sciences, humanities, management and medicine along with 121 affiliated colleges and 53 approved research institutions. The university houses the national centres for advanced research in nanotechnology, photonics and neurotoxicity. Besides, having three Centres of Advanced Study (CAS) in biophysics, botany and mathematics.