Tribhuvan University (TU) was set up under the TU Act in 1959, making it the oldest and largest university in Nepal. It was named after the late King Tribhuvan and during its early years, all postgraduate classes were held at the Tripureshwor Campus. The administrative office was also located there.

Then in 1967, the university was relocated to its main campus in Kirtipur, an ancient town approximately 5km southwest of the city of Kathmandu. Covering an area of 155 hectares, the Kirtipur campus comprises the Central Administrative Office and the Central Campus.

However, as of 2017, it has 60 constituent campuses and 1,084 affiliated colleges all over the country. The university offers 2,079 undergraduate programmes and 2,000 postgraduate programmes across its many affiliated institutions. Tribhuvan University is the 11th largest university in the world, in terms of enrollment. It is government funded and therefore far more affordable than the country’s private universities.

There are 7,841 teaching staff and 7,413 administrative staff across its constituent campuses.

It was set up with the objectives of preparing capable human resources required for the overall development of Nepal, impact standard higher education, protect and develop national culture and tradition and involve extensive, empirical and timely creation of knowledge and research in the fields of arts, science, technology and vocation.

It is home to the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground or the Kirtipur Cricket Ground, which has hosted many international and domestic matches, starting in 1998, when Bangladesh played Papua New Guinea in the ACC Trophy.