Bharathidasan University has a main campus and a south campus, both located at Palkalaiperur, which is about 15 km from
Tiruchirapalli, on National Highway 210. Another campus is located at Kajamalai.
Named after the revolutionary Tamil poet, Bharathidasan, its jurisdiction spreads over eight districts including Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Ariyalur and Pudukkottai. The colleges located in these districts are affiliated to this university.
The university has 26 academic departments, 99 affiliated colleges and 16 constituent colleges. Undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate courses are offered. The Centre for Distance Education offers programs in Computer Science and Applications, Information Technology, e-Commerce, Bio-Informatics, Gene-Technology, Bank Management, Financial Management, Co-Operation, Library and Information Science.