Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU) is a State university in Kakryal, Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir, near the base of the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route, established by the Jammu and Kashmir Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Act, 1999. Academic operations began in August 2004, inaugurated by then-President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir serves as ex-officio Chancellor.
The university's governance model is genuinely distinctive: the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, a statutory body constituted under a separate 1988 Act, is named in the University Act itself as the University's supreme authority, with powers to review decisions of the Executive Council and Academic Council, approve the University's Statutes and annual budget, and utilise surplus pilgrimage-derived finance to fund the University, a funding model written directly into the enabling Act.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Established | 1999 (Act); academics began 2004 |
| Type | State university (governed by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board as supreme authority) |
| Location | Kakryal, Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir 182320 (near Katra) |
| Chancellor | Lieutenant Governor, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir |
| NAAC | B++ (CGPA 2.94, Cycle 1, 2019; validity lapsed February 2024) |
| NIRF 2025 Architecture | Rank 23 (score 56.47) |
| NIRF 2025 Engineering | Rank band 151-200 |
| Recognition | UGC 2(f) and 12(B); AICTE; Council of Architecture |
SMVDU is organised into four faculties and fourteen schools: Engineering (Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Energy Management, and Architecture and Landscape Design), Sciences (Physics, Mathematics, Biotechnology), Management (Business, Economics), and Humanities and Social Sciences (Philosophy and Culture, Languages and Literature). The university also offers Design Your Degree (DYD) and B.Des programmes, and runs SMVD College of Nursing.
B.Tech admission (Civil, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Mathematics and Computing, Mechanical, Robotics and AI) is through JEE Main, via either JoSAA/CSAB central counselling or SMVDU's own counselling on JEE Main All India Rank. B.Tech Biotechnology additionally accepts CUET (UG) or NEET (UG) scores through SMVDU's own counselling. There is no SMVDU-specific entrance exam for any undergraduate engineering programme.
| Route | Programme | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| JEE Main | B.Tech (most branches) | JoSAA/CSAB central counselling, or SMVDU counselling on JEE Main AIR |
| CUET (UG) / NEET (UG) | B.Tech Biotechnology | SMVDU counselling on the respective score |
| CCMT (GATE-based) | M.Tech | Central counselling |
| CCMN | M.Sc | Central counselling |
| GAT-B | M.Sc Biotechnology | SMVDU counselling |
| CUET / Non-CUET merit | Other PG programmes | Parallel merit lists run by SMVDU |
Minimum undergraduate eligibility is 60% aggregate in the qualifying examination (55% for SC/ST/PwD candidates).
For the 2026-27 cycle, registration for B.Tech (Lateral Entry), B.Des, B.Arch, Design Your Degree, FYUP, MA, M.Sc, M.Tech, and MBA closed 16 July 2026 (FYUP registration closed 24 July 2026), with merit lists released through late July 2026. Reporting runs on staggered schedules: SMVDU counselling 3-10 August 2026, CCMT/CCMN 5-11 August 2026, and JoSAA/CSAB 13-18 August 2026, with classes commencing 10 August 2026 and orientation on 20 August 2026.
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University ranked 23rd in NIRF 2025 Architecture and Planning (score 56.47) and fell in the 151-200 band of NIRF 2025 Engineering, both confirmed directly against nirfindia.org. It did not appear in NIRF 2025 University or Overall rankings. It holds NAAC B++ accreditation (CGPA 2.94, Cycle 1, awarded 2019), with a stated validity through February 2024 that has since lapsed; no record of a completed re-accreditation was found, despite the university having submitted a re-accreditation application in August 2022.
The university's campus is located in Kakryal, Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir, near the town of Katra at the base of the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route, classified as a rural campus in its own official accreditation report.
Governed by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board as its supreme authority under its own Act, an unusual and clearly codified structure among Indian state universities
Ranked 23rd in NIRF 2025 Architecture and Planning, its strongest individual NIRF category
Admits through JEE Main, CUET, NEET, GATE, or GAT-B depending on programme, giving applicants flexibility rather than a single fixed entrance test
Seven engineering-adjacent schools, from Computer Science and Electronics to Architecture and Landscape Design and Energy Management, under one Faculty of Engineering
| Framework | Category | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIRF | Architecture | 2025 | #23 |
| NIRF | Architecture | 2024 | #31 |
| NIRF | Architecture | 2023 | #26 |
| NIRF | Architecture | 2022 | #16 |
| NIRF | Engineering | 2022 | #101 |
No independently verifiable, individually sourced notable alumni could be confirmed for this institution at the time of writing. This section is left out rather than populated with unconfirmed names.
20 courses offered. Fees in INR lakhs.
406 cutoff records across exams, courses, and categories.
| Year | R | Exam | Course | Category | Gender | Quota | Opening | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) | General | Gender-Neutral | AI | 124 | 929 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) | OBC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 517 | 523 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) | SC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 264 | 315 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) | ST | Gender-Neutral | AI | 160 | 160 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) | EWS | Gender-Neutral | AI | 281 | 281 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | General | Gender-Neutral | AI | 59058 | 69199 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | General | Gender-Neutral | AI | 33316 | 56963 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | General | Gender-Neutral | AI | 55063 | 67778 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | General | Gender-Neutral | AI | 42448 | 57736 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | General | Gender-Neutral | AI | 48819 | 70443 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | General | Gender-Neutral | AI | 53182 | 77606 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | OBC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 21255 | 24478 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | OBC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 21947 | 24071 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | OBC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 24269 | 27078 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | OBC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 24241 | 24851 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | OBC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 20585 | 22398 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | OBC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 17462 | 20557 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | SC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 11177 | 12560 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | SC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 12247 | 13244 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | SC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 8951 | 10902 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | SC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 11987 | 12663 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | SC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 8679 | 11338 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | SC | Gender-Neutral | AI | 10761 | 12411 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | ST | Gender-Neutral | AI | 2524 | 5938 |
| 2025 | 1 | JEE Main | B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) | ST | Gender-Neutral | AI | 4748 | 4748 |
Campus size, faculty strength, hostel facilities, and academic infrastructure.
