Annamalai University is a state university located in Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The university is spread across 950 acres (3.8 km2) in Chidambaram and offers courses of higher education in Arts, Science, Engineering, Medical, Management (MBA), Humanities, Agriculture, and Physical Education. The university was founded in 1929 by the entrepreneur Annamalai Chettiyar in the aftermath of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. It was the first private university in India. It was taken over by Government of Tamil Nadu in 2013.