V.O. Chidambaram College, Thoothukudi

V.O. Chidambaram College is an arts and science college on Palayamkottai Road in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, named after the Swadeshi leader V.O. Chidambaram Pillai. Its foundation stone was laid on 9 June 1947, and classes began in 1951 under founder secretary Kulapathi A.P.C. Veerabahu and the first principal, A. Srinivasa Raghavan. First affiliated to the University of Madras and from 1966 to Madurai University, it is now a postgraduate and research centre affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, run by the V.O. Chidambaram Educational Society on a campus of about 100 acres.

The college has government-aided and unaided streams, with undergraduate courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, geology, history, economics, English, commerce, business administration and computer science, M.A., M.Sc. and M.Com programmes, and Ph.D. research in ten subjects. Applicants apply online, and seats are allotted from a selection list prepared under the reservation scheme, followed by certificate verification and an interview. NAAC accredited it with an A++ grade (CGPA 3.66) in its fourth cycle in 2023. In NIRF 2025 it is ranked 22nd in the college category.