Sir Theagaraya College

Sir Theagaraya College is a co-educational college in Old Washermenpet, North Chennai, affiliated to the University of Madras and not autonomous. It began in 1950 with the Intermediate course and became a first-grade college in 1954 when B.A. degree programmes were introduced. Its roots lie in the North Madras Hindu Secondary School, founded in 1897 by Pitty Theagaraya Chetty Senior and Sir Pitty Theagaraya Chetty Junior. The college stands on a 5.5-acre urban campus, is recognised by the UGC under Sections 2(f) and 12(B), and appears in the 151-200 band of the College category in NIRF 2025.

Teaching is organised in two streams. The grant-in-aid programmes (Shift I) are B.A. in Historical Studies and Economics, B.Sc. in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology and Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology, B.Com. (General), M.A. in Historical Studies and Economics, and M.Sc. Zoology; the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Collegiate Education lists sanctioned strengths of 640 undergraduate and 61 postgraduate seats for them. The self-financing programmes, which grew out of the evening college started in 1965, include B.Sc. Computer Science, BCA, B.Com. in Computer Application, Accounting and Finance and Corporate Secretaryship, BBA, M.Com. and M.Sc. Computer Science. Ph.D. research is offered in Economics, Historical Studies and Zoology (full or part time) and in Commerce, Tamil and English (part time). Each shift has its own online application portal.