Establishment of Nitte

Nitte (Deemed-to-be University) has its roots in a group of Institutions established by the Nitte Education Trust. The Trust was established in 1979 by one of India’s respected Statesman, Late Justice KS Hegde, Supreme Court Judge and Speaker of Lok Sabha, with the mission of empowering rural youth through quality education and healthcare. The Trust has established 36 institutions spread in three campuses at Nitte, Mangalore and Bangalore. It offers education in diverse areas of learning including health professions education, engineering, management, humanities, general education, vocational training, and school/pre-university education.

AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences (ABSMIDS), one of the colleges of the Nitte Education Trust, then affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, was declared to be a “Deemed to be University” by Ministry of Human Resource Development on 4th June 2008. In the subsequent year (2009) KS Hegde Medical Academy (KSHEMA), Nitte Gulabi Shetty Memorial Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (NGSMIPS), Nitte Usha Institute of Nursing Sciences (NUINS) and Nitte Institute of Physiotherapy (NIPT) also came under the ambit of the newly formed Deemed-to-be University. Nitte Institute of Communication (NICO) was established in 2012, Nitte University Centre for Science Education and Research (NUCSER) in 2013 and Nitte Institute of Architecture (NIA) in 2015. In 2021, Nitte Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) became the most recent addition to the University.

The University offers a total of 130+ programs in the disciplines of medicine, allied health sciences, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy, speech and audiology, biological sciences, media & communication and Architecture. It has 25000+ students, 4500+ faculty and 1 lakh alumni. The University campuses are spread over 52 acres in Deralakatte-Paneer areas of Mangalore.

The University received A+ Grading in NAAC accreditation in 2021. The University is placed in the 501-550 Rank Band in the QS Rankings for Asia Region 2024. It has received Diamond rating in the QS I-Gauge India Ratings. The Constituent colleges of the university have good standing in their disciplines in the NIRF rankings. In 2024, Nitte University has obtained 66th Rank, the dental college ranked 6th and pharmacy colleges ranked 41th in NIRF. The BPharm program of the University is accredited by NBA. The teaching hospital is accredited by both NABH and NABL.