Anna University was established on 4th September 1978 as a unitary type of University. This University was named after Late Dr C.N.Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. It offers higher education in Engineering, Technology, Architecture and Applied Sciences relevant to the current and projected needs of society. Besides promoting research and disseminating knowledge gained therefrom, it fosters cooperation between the academic and industrial communities. The University was formed by bringing together and integrating four well-known technical institutions in the city of Madras (now Chennai) namely,
The University is situated in the southern part of the city of Chennai and it is 3 kms. from the nearest Railway Station (Guindy) and 10 kms. from Chennai Airport. The University's Main Campus extends over 189 acres abutting the Adyar River on the north and Raj Bhavan on the south. The Madras Institute of Technology at Chrompet constitutes the second campus of the University which extends over 52 acres. A third campus extending over 5 acres is located at Taramani, Chennai. These campuses have a variety of buildings serving the various needs of the University community.
In 2001, Anna University was converted to an affiliating type University by bringing together all the Engineering colleges in the State of Tamil Nadu and was again reconverted to the unitary type in 2010. In 2012, Anna University was again converted to an affiliating type of University by bringing together all the Engineering Colleges in the State of Tamil Nadu under one umbrella to ensure uniform quality in engineering education.
In addition to the above, 4 University Department Campuses (CEG/MIT/ACT/SAP Campuses), presently, Anna University has 13 Constituent Colleges, 3 Regional Campuses at Tirunelveli, Madurai and Coimbatore and 593 Affiliated Colleges (Government, Government Aided and Self-Financing Colleges).