thumb|Technology Tower building.

thumb|Periyar Central Library.

Vellore Institute of Technology is a private deemed university in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

The institution offers undergraduate and postgraduate, programmes. It has campuses in Vellore and Chennai and three sister universities as distinct state private universities in Amaravati, Bhopal, Bengaluru in India and an international campus in Mauritius.

History

VIT was established under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, and was founded in 1984 by G. Viswanathan as a self-financing institution called the Vellore Engineering College. In 2001, It became a deemed university.

In September 2006, it was renamed to VIT University. It was among the first in India to introduce the Fully Flexible Credit System (FFCS), allowing students to choose their courses, faculty, and class schedules. This flexibility, combined with a strong research ecosystem and global partnerships, has helped VIT consistently rank among the top private universities in India and gain recognition in QS and Times Higher Education global rankings.

Rankings

Internationally, VIT was ranked 691 in the QS World University Rankings of 2026. VIT was ranked 791-800 in the QS World University Rankings of 2025 and 150 in Asia. It was ranked 801–1000 in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2023,

VIT was ranked first among private engineering colleges in India by Outlook India in 2022.

  • It is preparing for the third round of accreditation by the NBA.
  • It is accredited by the International accrediting agency ABET.
  • ACBSP has accredited the VIT Business School.
  • ACCA has accredited the BBA program.

Cultural and sports festivals

Riviera – VIT Vellore<br />

Riviera is the flagship international sports and cultural festival of VIT Vellore, held annually in February. Spanning four days, Riviera in 2025 featured over 45,000 students from 80 universities and colleges representing 26 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. The festival features a vibrant mix of sports tournaments, cultural competitions, pro-shows, and social awareness events. The Riviera festival, has achieved both ISO certification and a Guinness World Record.

Vibrance – VIT Chennai <br />

Vibrance is a cultural and sports festival of VIT Chennai, typically held in late February or early March. This four-day extravaganza brings together over 22,000 students, including international participants, for a celebration of art, music, dance, and athleticism.

Controversies

In October 2013, two female students were suspended after they helped organize an online opinion survey of female VIT students, focusing on issues of safety and inequality. Commenting on the issue, VIT vice president Sekar Viswanathan said: "The students started a campaign based on the misplaced notion that the university discriminates against women, which is false. They were taken home by their parents".

In March 2024, VIT organized an athletic event to promote gender equality. However, there was a social media outrage because the college initially asked men to run 10 kilometers and women to run 5 kilometers. The event poster was later redesigned.

Notable alumni

  • Soumith Chintala, lead creator and maintainer of PyTorch, a software framework for deep learning in artificial intelligence
  • Papias Malimba Musafiri, Rwandan Minister of Education
  • Bindu Madhavi
  • Anand Prakash, Indian ethical hacker
  • Kaveri Priyam
  • Poornima Ravi, Actress and YouTuber
  • Indhuja Ravichandran, Model and Actress
  • Dhyan Sreenivasan
  • Shubhangi Swaroop, first female pilot in Indian Navy

See also

  • VIT University Formula Student Team – Pravega Racing
  • VIT-AP University
  • VIT Bhopal University

References

  • VITEEE
  • VIT Online - Official Website