Tribhuvan University (TU; Nepali: त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. It offers 1,000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs across a wide range of disciplines. Additionally, the institution has 62 constituent campuses and over 1,080 affiliated colleges across the country.

Established on 25 June 1959 (or 11 Ashar 2016 BS), Tribhuvan University is the oldest and largest university in Nepal. The university was named after the late King Tribhuvan. In its early years, all the postgraduate classes were held at Tripureshwor Campus, where the administrative office was also located. It was only in 1967 that the university was relocated to its main campus in Kirtipur – an ancient town about 5 km south-west of the city of Kathmandu. The university site, spread over 154.77 hectares, constitutes the Central Administrative Office and the Central Campus.

Since its inception, the state-owned university has expanded its programmes. There are five technical institutes and four general faculties. The university offers 115 courses for the technical proficiency certificate level. TU offers 1079 courses at Bachelor's level and 1000 courses at Master's level. It offers PhD degrees in the technical institutes and faculties.

Tribhuvan University ran its programmes only through its constituent campuses before 1980. With the increasing number of students seeking higher education, it was not possible to accommodate all the students in the constituent campuses. This situation led to the establishment of colleges in the private sector because the constituent campuses alone could not meet the demand. From 1979 to 1980, TU started providing affiliation to private colleges. As of April 2016, 1,084 private and public colleges were affiliated with TU.

In the 2014–2015 academic session 405,341 students were enrolled in TU academic programmes. 148,141 (36.55%) students study in its 60 constituent campuses including 38 central departments, while 257,200 (63.45%) students study in 1,053 affiliated colleges.

Student enrollment and educational quality

Tribhuvan University is the leading University in Nepal. Many colleges are affiliated with Tribhuvan University. In 1971, all the community colleges were part of Tribhuvan University. The university has the largest number of full-time enrollments in the world. The 49th graduation ceremony of Tribhuvan University was on 18 December 2023, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The registrar of Tribhuvan University said more than 73000 students were graduating at that time. The significant number of graduates made Tribhuvan University hold a Guinness World Record.

Although the education system of Tribhuvan University has produced many graduates, many of them still need to get jobs in the market. They cannot find jobs in Nepal, so they go abroad to look for financial opportunities. Nepal's Public colleges are government-funded, and community colleges are privately funded. Both types of colleges are university-oriented and implement the university curriculum and university exam system. The university's education and services, such as business education, employment, training, and vocational education, are not up to date with new technology and career preparation.

TU has 7,841 teaching faculty and 7,413 non-teaching staff including the support staff in its constituent campuses. The number of total employees is 15,254.

Tribhuvan University is ranked in the top 1201-1500 universities in the world as per the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2024, published by the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine. It is ranked among the 251-300 best universities of Asia. It is ranked at 6676 in the world and 2nd in the country as per the 4icu Organisation of University Ranking.

The university administers its science and technology programs, such as BSc, BE, MBBS, etc., through its technical institutes. There are five technical institutes at the university, each taking care of a specific domain within the field of science and technology education.

• Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS)
• Institute of Engineering (IOE)
• Institute of Forestry (IOF)
• Institute of Medicine (IOM)
• Institute of Science and Technology (IOST)

There are four faculties and a total of 40 associated central departments at the university:

Hostels at Tribhuvan University

Hostels are available for up to five hundred students at Tribhuvan University; four are for male students, and four are for female students. An identification hostel card was provided to make the hostels more organized. Students who come from poor families or remote areas are given the privilege to live in the hostels.

The free student union at Tribhuvan University

Tribhuvan University also has a free student union as another facility. This free student union has established the rights and interests of students who come to study at the university and to solve students' problems. The committee of the students' union has to be elected at the university. The university students who are affiliated with different political parties vote for their supporter leaders. The student union election is held every two years. Regardless of winning by embracing the idea of any party, the student union works to solve problems for all students.

TU has 62 constituent campuses. The following is a partial list of constituent colleges of the university:

• Mahendra Ratna Multiple Campus, Illam
• Gaurahadaha Agriculture Campus, Jhapa
• Mechi Multiple Campus, Jhapa

• Mahendra Morang Adarsh Multiple Campus, Biratnagar
• Snatakottar Campus(Postgraduate Campus), Biratnagar
• Nursing Campus, Biratnagar
• Purwanchal Campus, Dharan
• Mahendra Multiple Campus, Dharan
• Central Campus of Technology, Dharan
• Dhankuta Multiple Campus, Dhankuta
• Tehrathum Multiple Campus, Terhathum
• Bhojpur Multiple Campus, Bhojpur

• Ramshwaroop Ramsagar Multiple Campus, Janakpur
• Thakur Ram Multiple Campus, Birgunj
• Birgunj Nursing Campus, Birgunj
• Surya Narayana Satya Narayana Morveta Yadhav Multiple Campus, Siraha
• Mahendra Bindeshwori Multiple Campus, Saptari

• Hetauda Forestry Campus, Hetauda
• Rampur Agriculture Campus, Chitwan
• Chitwan Engineering Campus, Chitwan
• Birendra Multiple Campus, Chitwan

• Nepal Commerce Campus, Minbhavan, Kathmandu
• Sanothimi Campus, Bhaktapur
• Bhaktapur Multiple Campus, Bhaktapur
• Patan Samyukta Campus, Patandhoka, Lalitpur
• Pulchowk Campus, Pulchowk
• Nepal Commerce Campus, Min Bhawan
• Thapathali Campus, Thapathali
• Jana Prasashan Campus, Balkhu
• University Campus, Kirtipur
• Mahendra Ratna Campus, Tahachal
• Ayurved Campus, Kirtipur
• Public Youth Campus, Dhobichaur
• Saraswoti Multiple Campus, Lainchaur
• Amrit Campus, Lainchaur
• Central Medicine Campus, Maharajgung
• Nursing Campus, Maharajgunj
• Lalitkala Campus, Bhotahiti
• Trichandra Multiple Campus, Ghantaghar
• Padmakanya Multiple Campus, Bagbazar
• Shanker Dev Campus, Putalisadak
• Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Campus, Pradarshani Marg, Kathmandu
• Nepal Law Campus, Pradarshani Marg
• Bishwa Bhasa Campus, Pradarshani Marg

• Gorkha Campus, Gorkha
• Pashchimanchal Campus, Pokhara
• Lamjung Agriculture Campus, Sundarbazar
• Dhaulagiri Campus, Baglung
• Pokhara Nursing Campus, Pokhara
• Pokhara Forestry Campus, Pokhara
• Prithivi Narayan Campus, Pokhara
• Tribhuwan Multiple Campus, Syangja

• Tribhuvan Multiple Campus, Palpa
• Butwal Multiple Campus, Butwal
• Paklihawa Agriculture Campus, Paklihawa
• Bhairahawa Multiple Campus, Bhairahawa
• Mahendra Multiple Campus, Dang
• Nepalgunj Nursing Campus, Nepalgunj
• Mahendra Multiple Campus, Nepalgunj
• [ Deukhuri multiple Campus, Dang]

• Surkhet Campus, Birendranagar
• Jumla Multiple Campus, Jumla

• Doti Multiple Campus, Doti
• Dadeldhura Campus, Dadeldhura
• Siddhanath Science Campus, Mahendranagar

TU is government-financed but still an autonomous organization. The head of the government, the prime minister, is its chancellor.

• Chancellor: Prime Minister of Nepal (KP Sharma Oli)
• Pro-Chancellor: Minister of Education (Vidya Adhikari)
• Vice Chancellor: Prof. Dr. Keshar Jung Baral
• Rector: Sarbashree K.C.
• Registrar: Prof. Dr. Kedar Rijal

• Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground
• Tribhuvan University Central Library

• Nepal Chemical Society
• Nepal Mathematical Society
• Nepal Physical Society
• Nepal Geography Student Society
• Nepal Geographical Society

Tribhuvan University has the following research centers:

• Centre for Economic Development and Administration (CEDA)
• Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS), formerly called the Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies (INAS)
• Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST)
• Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development (CERID)

• Central Department of Chemistry
• Central Department of Mathematics
• Central Department of Public Administration
• Central Department of Geography

• Pushpa Kamal Dahal - Prime Minister of Nepal
• Bimalendra Nidhi - Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal
• Arjun Narasingha KC - 5-time former Minister and Nepali Congress party leader completed his master's degree in political science at TU
• Gagan Thapa - former Health minister and popular Youth Leader who studied Sociology at TU
• Sushma Shakya - award-winning visual artist
• Sharada Sharma - writer
• Udayraj Khanal - physicist
• Binil Aryal - physicist
• Udit Narayan - playback singer