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 160+ programs, in the disciplines of medicine, allied health sciences, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy, speech and audiology, biological sciences, media & communication and Architecture. It has 27,000 students, 5,500+ faculty and 1 lakh alumni. The University campuses are spread over 52 acres in Deralakatte-Paneer areas of Mangalore.
The University received an A+ grade in NAAC accreditation in 2021 and continues to be recognized for academic excellence and global impact. It is ranked among the Top 100 in NIRF University Rankings 2025, with its dental college placed 6th and the pharmacy college ranked 51st nationally. In the international arena, Nitte University is placed in the Top 600 of the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2025 and features in the Top 400 of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024. It is also positioned in the 1501+ band of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025, with healthcare education specifically ranked in the 1001+ band by subject (Medical & Health). The University has earned the Diamond rating in QS I-Gauge India Ratings and the 252nd rank in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings 2024. The BPharm programme is accredited by NBA, while the teaching hospital is accredited by NABH and NABL, further reinforcing the University’s quality benchmarks in education and healthcare.
Born in Kowdoor village on June 11, 1909, Kowdoor Sadananda Hegde had his early education at Karkala and Mangaluru. Thereafter, he obtained a degree in Economics from the Presidency College in Madras and a degree in Law from the Government Law College, Madras.
He began his legal practice at Karkala in 1936 and later moved to Mangaluru, where he was appointed as the Public Prosecutor of South Canara district in 1948. He was an elected Member of the First Council of States (now known as the Rajya Sabha).
In 1954, he represented India at the General Assembly of the United Nations. He then, became a Judge of the Mysore High Court. In 1966, he was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Delhi and Himachal Pradesh High Court. He held this office till he was elevated to the post of Judge of Supreme Court of India in 1967.
A man of integrity and strong values, Justice K S Hegde resigned from the post of Chief Justice in 1973, in protest against the supercession of senior judges in the appointment of the Chief Justice of India. In 1977, he won the election to the Lok Sabha and was elected as the Speaker of Lok Sabha, an office he held till 1980.
After a distinguished career, he retired from public life and settled at Nitte, only to relentlessly work for the upliftment and empowerment of the rural people. Justice K S Hegde passed away on May 25, 1990.