Andhra University is not just one of the oldest educational institutions in the country, but is also the first to be conceived as a residential and teaching-cum-affiliating University, mainly devoted to post-graduate teaching and research.

The people of the State have an emotional attachment to the institution, since it came into being after a prolonged and collective struggle of the Telugu elite for a University in the educationally backward northern Circars and Ceded districts of the erstwhile Madras Presidency.

Andhra University was constituted in the year 1926 by the Madras Act of 1926. The 94-year-old institution is fortunate to have Sir C.R. Reddy as its founder Vice-Chancellor, as the steps taken by this visionary proved to be fruitful in the long run.

Former President of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was one of its Vice-Chancellors who succeed Dr. C. R. Reddy in 1931. The University College of Arts was inaugurated on 1st July, 1931. The inaugural courses were Telugu language and literature, History, Economics and Politics. A year later, the College of Science and Technology came into being with Honours courses in Physics and Chemistry. The University pioneered in introducing many new courses in Science, Arts, Management and Engineering in the country.

The leaders of the university always believed that excellence in higher education is the best investment for the country and engaged the services of famous educationists such as Dr. T.R. Seshadri, Dr. S. Bhagavantham, Professor Hiren Mukherjee, Professor Humayan Kabir and Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao, to mention a few who set high standards for teaching and research. Nobel Lariat C V Raman was the proud alumnus of the University and closely associated in laying research foundations in Physics. Padmavibhushan Prof. C R Rao, the renowned statistician of the world, was also the proud alumnus of the University.

Keeping in pace with the global needs and challenges under the leadership and guidance of successive Vice-chancellors, the University is offering several new Courses of relevance and Contemporary significance.

Ever since its inception in 1926 Andhra University has an impeccable record of catering to the educational needs and solving the sociological problems of the region. The University is relentless in its efforts in maintaining standards in teaching and research, ensuring proper character building and development among the students, encouraging community developmental programmes, nurturing leadership in young men and women and imbibing a sense of responsibility to become good citizens, while striving for excellence in all fronts.

As a sequel to this, the University has always subjected itself for continuous self-evaluation for maintaining standards and to reach set targets. Further, to assure quality in Higher Education the University has gone through the process of assessment and accreditation by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in April 2002. The Peer Committee has analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the institution and has assessed the University with ‘A' grade awarding it with the best percentage among the State Universities of Andhra Pradesh. The University designed and implemented Quality Management System successfully and became the first general University in the country to get ISO 9001: 2000 Certification in 2006. For the year 2020, Andhra University ranked 19th in the university category and 36th in overall category.

The University has well experienced and expert faculty known worldwide for their research contributions. Organization of International and National events is a regular feature of the University. The alumni of the University occupy important positions in government administration, Industry and research organizations within and outside the country.