• Located at 86/1, College Street, in Kolkata, India , Presidency College, Calcutta offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in natural sciences , humanities and social sciences.

• It was established as Hindu College , with the foundation being laid on January 20, 1817 in Calcutta, the capital of British India , thus making it the first Western style college in Asia and of course, India.

• It was renamed to Presidency College in 1855 to admit non Hindu students like Muslims, Jews , Christians, Buddhists and followers of the Brahmo Samaj.

• It was placed under the control of the University of Calcutta in 1857.

• It was one of the first colleges in India to admit female students with the first girl student attending class in 1897.

• It is considered by academics abroad to be the Indian equivalent of Harvard - both by historical significance as well as by academic standards.

• It was ranked no. 1 arts college in India by the weekly newsmagazine 'India Today' in 2001.

• Many of its ex-students can be found in leading research universities in the West.

It is affiliated to the University of Calcutta( CU ) .

• The college has 17 Honours departments. It has no B.Com. or pass courses. The departments are:
  
  English
  Bengali
  Hindi
  Sanskrit
  History
  Philosophy
  Political Science
  Sociology (B.A.)
  Physics
  Chemistry
  Mathematics
  Statistics
  Economics
  Geography
  Geology
  Botany
  Zoology
  Physiology
  
  It has post-graduate section in almost all departments except in Statistics, Sociology.

• The courses offered are :
  
  Undergraduate Courses
  
  B.A.
  
  Bengali
  English
  Economics
  Geography
  Sociology
  History
  Hindi
  Philosophy
  Mathematics
  Political Science
  
  B. Sc.
  
  Zoology
  Botany
  Physiology
  Statistics
  Mathematics
  Physics
  Chemistry
  
  Postgraduate Courses
  
  M.A.
  
  Bengali
  English
  Economics
  Geography
  History
  Hindi
  Philosophy
  Mathematics (Applied)
  Sociology
  Political
  Science
  Mathematics (Pure)
  
  M.Sc.
  
  Botany
  Chemistry
  Physiology
  Zoology
  Physics
  Mathematics (Pure)
  Mathematics (Applied)
  
  Ph.D.

• Presidency College Computer Club has been established to promote computer awareness among the students of the college. It provides a forum for people interested in computers to exchange tips, tricks and solutions regarding computer related problems.

• The Presidency College Union (PCU) is comprised of the students, teachers and non-teaching staff of the college. Only the students have voting rights. 59 Constituency Representatives (CR) are elected by the members of each of 9 constituencies. A panel of office bearers, led by the Vice-President are elected by the CR's.

• The PCU organises Mileu, the college's annual Festival, every year. Events range from the serious (Quiz, Debate), to the utterly frivolous (Chao Quiz, Mileu Couple). Guest items cover all genres of popular music, Eastern and Western. The Foundation Week is organised from the 20th to 26th of January. It is a wonderful time when ex-students get a chance to catch up with old friends. Awards to outstanding students are awarded during this period.

• The Eden Hostel presently accommodates 236 students. The male students of Presidency College, Goenka College of Commerce, Maulana Azad College and Sanskrit College are at present accommodated in this Hostel.