Earlier known to be the University of Saugar, the Dr. Harisingh Gour University came into existence on July 18th 1946, a year before the India got its independence. This university named after the person is the sole founder of this institution and also funded the entire working of the university. This university is perhaps the oldest and one of the biggest universities in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Dr. Harisingh Gour, as a person always held the important positions as far as the academic history of India is concerned. Moreover apart from his academic efforts he was a philanthropist, loving humans and thus educating them. He apart from founding this university has been the vice chancellor to prime and important universities like the university of Delhi and Nagpur.

The campus of the university is located in the most scenic places of the state i.e. at the top of the Patharia hills and is widely spread across the area of 830.3 hectares over the land. The campus is large enough to offer all the basic requirements and needs of the university. The campus in itself contains around 36 independent university teaching departments, apart from other buildings for the administrative block, boys and girls hostels, State Bank of India branch, shopping complex, hospital, university press and most importantly a huge central library that is well available to the every student of the university and besides this central library, each teaching department within itself houses its own departmental library which is yet another source for students to get some specified help.

The courses offered by the university are differently categorized like the conventional degree or under graduate, post graduate and research courses. The fields in which these courses are catered to are wide enough and are as geology, microbiology, business management, journalism and mass communication, pharmacy and many more. Apart from these courses that the university runs, the university also offers the self-financed correspondence courses including diplomas and PG diploma. There are still today only few fields holding up in this self- financed correspondence courses scheme.