The Periyar University was established by the Act 45 of Government of Tamilnadu in 1997. The University is named after a renowned social reformer popularly called "Thanthai Periyar". The University thus established had its origin with the three departments (Commerce, Geology and Mathematics) of Postgraduate extension center of Madras University functioning at Salem at that time. The University Grants Commissions, New Delhi bestowed the 2f status on 09.10.1998 and 12(B) status on 17.05.2005 to the Periyar University. It is accredited by NAAC with 'A' grade. It has been awarded a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.15 points (performance descriptor “Very Good”).