Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi

Indraprastha College for Women (estd. 1924) is a constituent college of the University of Delhi and its oldest women’s college. Founded as a part of a nation-wide campaign for women's education and empowerment, it is located on a beautiful campus which is a recognized heritage site and a landmark of Delhi. It has an enrolment of approximately 3500 students in its UG and PG programs. The College offers a wide range of courses, which promotes interdisciplinary studies in the 3 streams of Humanities, Mathematical Sciences and Commerce. Two new courses, B.A. (Hons.) Sociology and B.A. (Hons.) Geography, has commenced from the academic session July 2017. Uniquely, the College offers the Self-Financed BA (Hons) in Multimedia and Mass Communication (BMMMC).

Indraprastha College for Women was founded in 1924 and is the oldest women’s college of the University of Delhi. It began with three students, in a room on the second floor of an old, now heritage, mansion housing the Indraprastha Girls’ Senior Secondary School, in Chippiwara in the Jama Masjid area of Chandani Chowk,in the walled city of Old Delhi. Degree courses were introduced in 1930s , and in 1938 the University recognized Indraprastha College as a degree college. After some years, the college moved to Chandrawali Bhawan in Civil Lines, and was moved again to ‘Alipore house’ at Alipure road(now Sham Nath Marg) to the office-cum-residence of the British Commander-in-Chief in 1938 where it exist until today.

The parent school and the College both grew out of the efforts of a group of Philanthropists associated with the Theosophical society of India. They were inspired by Mrs. Annie Besant, also a theosophist, who believed in and promoted education for women in north India, at a time when women were confined to the home and realized their destiny in marriage and motherhood. The vision of the College intensified over the decades, and remains focused on the holistic development and empowerment of women.

The College has intersected the National Movement, the Education Reforms Movement, and the Women’s Movement, and is itself a movement today. It has a glorious tradition of academics and service which has only grown over the years. Housed in a beautiful building, on a green campus spread over 14.5 acres, the College building was accorded heritage status in 2002.The College is a milestone in the heritage walk of colonial Delhi. As the College marches towards its centenary, it has added to its academics and infrastructural resources, always mindful of its core vision to empower and mainstream the marginalized.

Indraprastha College for Women group is mindful of the key role an educational institution plays in the development of productive citizens and future professionals, and of the impact they can create on multiple levels of the society.

For advanced learners, the College has a Research Methodology Program. The College has instituted an UG Research Grant for innovative and original projects. It has an International Student Desk, North East Society and an active WDC with a Gender Sensitization Cell. It offers basic medical facilities with regular attendance of a Nurse and a Counsellor, with the neighborhood hospital for medical emergencies. The College has a mentorship program and a Career Guidance and Placement Cell. The College has created six Research and Learning Resource Centres. The Museum and Archives Learning Resource Centre houses heritage and contemporary exhibits of the College. The Translation and Translation Studies Centre for independent research and skill development in languages. The Centre for Earth Studies promotes research in ecology and environment, and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies brings all the disciplines of the College together. Two new centres have been opened in 2017: Centre for Sanskrit Studies and Research and the Music Archives & Listening Room (Baithak).