The University formerly known as Bhopal University was established in 1970 in the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. In 1988, it was rechristened as the Barkatullah Vishwavidyalaya, in the living memory of the great freedom fighter, Prof. Barkatuallah belongs to Bhopal.

The University campus, covering an area of 400 acres of land, is located along Hoshangabad highway at a distance of about 2 kms. (approx) From the Habibganj railway crossing .The University complex includes Administrative building, Library Building, Life sciences block, Law building, humanities block, social science Building Physics Block, Applied Geology Block, Hostel Building, Guest House, Institute of open and distance education, post office, a branch of the state bank of India, printing press, faculty club, institute of Management Building, Department of Pharmacy and University Institute of technology.

The territorial jurisdiction of the university extends to the eight districts of Bhopal, Sehore, Vidisha, Raisen, Hoshangabad, Harda, Betul, and Rajgrah. There are more than one hundred seventy colleges affiliated to the University. There is one Engineering college two college of education, a Technical Teachers Training Institute, a Ayurvedic, Unani, Physiotherapy and homeopathic college affiliated to this University.

The University covers almost a total spectrum of higher education, offering courses in its affiliated colleges and the teaching departments in the faculties of Arts, Social Science, Science, Life Science, Home Science, Medicine, Commerce and Business Management, Law, Engineering, Education and Technical Education. The Chakravarty Rajagopalachari Institute of Management (CRIM) provides full-time courses in Business Management and the Institute of Open and Distance Learning, the only Institute of its kind in the State, provides Undergraduate, Post graduate and Diploma courses through correspondence.

The major emphasis of the University teaching departments is on interdisciplinary teaching and research. These teaching departments follow the annual semester system of teaching and examination, and make provision for such postgraduate courses, which are by and large, not provided a grant to establish a Women's Studies Centre in the Department of Sociology and have provided Special Assistance to departments of Microbiology and Physics under the SAP and COSIST.