The university was established by an Act of the Parliament in January 1998, with an All India jurisdiction to promote and develop the Urdu language and to impart vocational and technical Education in Urdu medium through conventional and distance modes. The university has been awarded "A" Grade by National Assessment & Accreditation Council. The Headquarters of the University is at an outstanding central location-Gachibowli, Hyderabad, sprawled over 200 acres. The landscape of MANUU campus is rich in fascinating rock formations, a typical feature of the Deccan Plateau, fauna and flora. The students and staff of the University are drawn from throughout India. They are attracted by its commitment to excellence in quality Urdu education in all disciplines of knowledge. The university's headquarter at Gachibowli houses buildings for Administration, School of Languages, Linguistics and Indology, School of Education and Training, School of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Mass Communication and Journalism, School of Computer Science & Information Technology, Saiyid Hamid Library, Polytechnic, ITI, UGC-Human Resource Development Centre; Instructional Media Center; Directorate of Distance Education; Center for Women Studies; Center for Urdu Language; Literature and Culture; Center for Professional Development of Urdu Medium Teachers; Al-Beruni Centre for the study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy; H.K Sherwani Center for Deccan studies and others. The University has a satellite campus in Lucknow and a campus at Srinagar. There are Colleges of Teacher Education in Bhopal, Darbhanga, Srinagar, Aurangabad, Sambhal, Asansol, Nuh, Bidar which are guided through School of Education and Training. The University runs four Polytechnic Colleges in Bengaluru, Darbhanga, Hyderabad and Cuttack; four ITIs in Bengaluru, Darbhanga, Hyderabad and Cuttack; and three Urdu Model Schools in Darbhanga, Hyderabad and Nuh.
Academics
The Regular mode programs are imparted through 7 School of Studies:
Languages, Linguistics & Indology
Commerce & Business Management
Mass Communication & Journalism
Computer Science & Information Technology
Arts & Social Sciences
Education & Training
Sciences
The Department s under the 7 School are: School of Languages, Linguistics & Indology
The Departments are currently offering 84 programs and courses, (25 PhD; 21 PG; 10 UG, 05 PG Diploma and 05 Diploma programs and 2 Certificate courses.
Chancellor
Firoz Bakht Ahmed was appointed chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University on 17 May 2018.
Memorial lecture
Vice-President Hamid Ansari delivered the first Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah memorial lecture at Maulana Azad Urdu University.
Facilities
The university is home to the Maulna Azad Library, which was established in 1998. The library subscribes to 27 periodicals in Urdu, 129 in English, nine in Hindi and 40 popular magazines apart from 13 newspapers in Urdu, English, Telugu and Hindi. The Centre for Urdu Language, Literature & Culture is associated with the university.