In 1953 when the Intermediate College came into existence in a couple of rented rooms of a community centre it was an onerous task to persuade young women to step out of the four walls of their homes or to convince their guardian to permit their wards to pursue higher education. But the perseverance of the dedicated band of teachers paid off and soon the growing enthusiasm of the students to enroll in the College called for a larger space.

In 1962, the great visionary and philanthropist Bharat Ratna J.R.D. Tata gave the College its own building with the sprawling grounds, in the heart of the city. With the infrastructure in the place, the College entered the most vigorous phase of its development. Additional classrooms, laboratories and the library as well as facilities like the hostel brought a gradual transformation in the physical setup.

Guided by the President of the College, Lady Roshan Gandhi, nurtured the love of great Principals like Mrs. Perin Mehta and Geeta Sanyal, served by excellent teachers and generously supported by the House of Tatas, the College has reached the pinnacle of success in its painstaking but determined journey through the years.

Even as it evolved from a private institute to an affiliated one in the year 1960and finally to a constituent unit of Ranchi University on 1st April 1977, the College stayed focused on its goal of providing quality education to its students. Jamshedpur Women’s College and now University has history that it is justifiable proud of. Not only has its growth been spectacular, the hoary past holds moments that will be cherished by everyone associated with the College. It played host to the Queen of Iran, Shah Bano, in 1962. In 1964 Acharya Vinoba Bhave put up in the College when Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri called on the Acharya here before leaving for Tashkent. Other luminaries like Shakuntala Devi, the maths wizard, have all left their footprints on the haloed precincts of the College.

Jamshedpur Women’s University stands as a testimony to the towering vision of its founder, Mrs. Perin C. Mehta, who redefined the destiny of the women of Jamshedpur with the trailblazing initiative of starting a college for women in the steel city. Today that small but significant step toward women’s emancipation through education has metamorphosed into a premier institute of the state of Jharkhand. It is a first Women University of the Jharkhand state and become functional with the assumption of the office by its first Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Anjila Gupta on 22nd June 2022.

THEN and NOW

In the beginning only arts subjects were taught and later science and commerce teaching were introduced in 1972 and 1974 respectively. Honours in different subjects were introduced from 1960 onwards. Down the years the numbers of course on offer have multiplied with the inclusion of Vocational like B.Ed. & M.Ed., Environment and Water Management, Bio technology, Mass Communication and Journalism, Bachelor in Library and Information Science, BBA, MBA, Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, BCA ,MCA and Add on courses like, Electronics, and Communicative English, Banking and Human Right and Value in Education amply reflecting the ability of the College to adapt to the requirements of the students and help them nurture their aspirations and ambitions. Post-Graduation level teaching is available in all subjects and students and teachers alike are encouraged to take up research work. The setting up of the Gandhian Study Centre for Research is a recent initiative to give a fillip to research. At present Ph.D. Program has started in most of the dept. to give the aspiring student a chance to fulfil their dream of involving in research activities.

Aware of the role of educated women in bringing about positive changes in society, Hon’ble Vice chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Anjila Gupta takes a proactive approach towards empowering them by enhancing their employment potential to help them attain economic independence. While constantly upgrading the curriculum with skill-based courses to increase their employability, the University also provides employment opportunities by facilitating campus selection through its Placement cell. In the past year a large number of students have found employment with multinational companies like WIPRO, INFOSIS, GENPACT, IBM, TCS and several others.

Values are the mainstay of education. Therefore healthy practices are adopted to make the learning experience more wholesome for the students and fulfilling for the teachers. Academics apart, a keen sense of social responsibility is ingrained in the students through a value based approach. The NCC, NSS and the Rotary club of Jamshedpur Women’s University mould their programmes to serve the needy and the disadvantaged. From environment awareness programmes to blood donation camps, from tending to the old and feeble to comforting the physically and mentally challenged, the students have involved themselves with dedication in all such cases.

Upon the initiative taken by the Hon’ble Vice chancellor eleven certificate courses all of job oriented in nature have been recently added to the curriculum.

The outstanding performance of the students in academics is matched by equally remarkable feats in other sphere of activity like sports and culture which have helped the College make a mark on the national and international scene. Archer’s Jhanu Hansda and Reena Kumari have represented India at international meets. Aruna Mishra, the ace pugilist has won the World Championship in boxing at Athens.