The University of Calcutta is a public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate colleges and 16 institutes in Kolkata and nearby areas. It was established on 24 January 1857 and is the oldest multidisciplinary university of Indian Subcontinent and South East Asian Region. Today, the university's jurisdiction is limited to a few districts of West Bengal, but at the time of its establishment it had a catchment area ranging from Kabul to Myanmar. Within India, it is recognized as a "Five-Star University" and accredited an "A" grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, 80 km (50 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary financial and commercial centre of eastern and northeastern India. Kolkata is the seventh most populous city of India with an estimated city proper population of 4.5 million (0.45 crore). It is the centre of the Kolkata Metropolitan Region, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world with a population of over 15 million residents. Kolkata is the de facto cultural capital of India and a historically and culturally significant city in the historic region of Bengal. It is the second largest Bengali-speaking city in the world. It has the highest number of Nobel laureates among all cities in India.