The University of Travancore which eventually became the University of Kerala was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharaja of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the University. Sir C. P Ramaswamy Ayyar, the then Diwan of the State, was the first Vice-Chancellor. It was the sixteenth University to be set up in India and ten Colleges within the State of Travancore which were affiliated to the Madras University became the affiliated colleges of the University of Travancore.
                    In 1957, the Kerala University Act, Act 14 of 1957, was brought into force and the University of Travancore was renamed University of Kerala. The University had three campuses located in three different parts of the State viz. Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. In 1968, the University Centre at Kozhikode became a full -fledged University covering the Colleges and Departments located in Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kannur Districts of Kerala. The Cochin University of Science and Technology and the Kerala Agricultural University were set up in 1971 and in 1983, the Mahatma Gandhi University was established. With the establishment of these Universities, the area of the jurisdiction of the University of Kerala has been limited to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha Districts and some parts of Pathanamthitta District.