Assam Agricultural University (AAU) is a state agricultural university headquartered at Borbheta, Jorhat, established on 1 April 1969 under the Assam Agricultural University Act, 1968, as the first institution of its kind in India's North-Eastern region. It holds ICAR Grade A accreditation and ranked 18th nationally in NIRF's 2025 Agriculture and Allied Sectors category. Following a 2025-26 restructuring, AAU's veterinary and fisheries programmes moved to a separate institution, and the university today runs six constituent colleges covering agriculture, horticulture, sericulture, and community science across Assam.
AAU was founded in 1969, bringing together the earlier Assam Agricultural College and Assam Veterinary College, Jorhat, under one university serving the entire state of Assam. Following the 2025-26 bifurcation that created the Assam Veterinary and Fishery University, AAU's teaching mandate today covers agriculture, horticulture, sericulture, and community science across six constituent colleges: College of Agriculture at Jorhat, Biswanath College of Agriculture, Sarat Chandra Singha College of Agriculture, College of Community Science, College of Horticulture and Farming System Research, and College of Sericulture.
The university's undergraduate curriculum includes a dedicated Department of Tea Husbandry and Technology, offering both a Master's and a Ph.D. in the discipline. ICAR does not run a national entrance paper for this specialisation, so AAU conducts its own entrance test for it, a marker of how few institutions nationally offer comparable depth in tea-industry research.
The first agricultural university established in India's North-Eastern region
A dedicated Department of Tea Husbandry and Technology offering Master's and Ph.D. degrees, with its own entrance test since no national ICAR paper covers the subject
A full College of Sericulture offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, tied to Assam's silk economy
23 Krishi Vigyan Kendras and 9 research stations operated across Assam
Recipient of the Sardar Patel Outstanding Institution Award, per the university's own account
NIRF Agriculture and Allied Sectors rank improved to 18th in 2025 from 19th in 2023
| Framework | Category | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIRF | Agriculture | 2025 | #18 |
| NIRF | Agriculture | 2024 | #14 |
| NIRF | Agriculture | 2023 | #19 |
AAU operates 30 hostels across its constituent campuses, though the university states that admission to a programme does not guarantee hostel accommodation. Its Rev. B.M. Pugh Library has served as the university's central library since 1969, with branch libraries at several constituent colleges, and integrates Payload's Koha library management system under an ICAR library-strengthening project. The university also runs a Students Medical Assistance Scheme covering students across its constituent colleges since 2016-17.
AAU documents 380 faculty members in its most recent NIRF disclosure, alongside sponsored research income of roughly Rs 112 crore across 139 projects in the most recently reported year. The university operates 9 research stations and 23 Krishi Vigyan Kendras across Assam, the largest verified component of its extension footprint. Ph.D. output has grown in recent years, with 230 scholars graduating in the most recently reported cohort against 503 full-time scholars on roll.
Campus size, faculty strength, hostel facilities, and academic infrastructure.
