Mangalore University campus at Mangalagangothri, located about 20 km to the south-east of the historic coastal town of Mangalore, sets the tone for the educational endeavours of the three districts under the jurisdiction of the University. It is a picturesque campus that sprawls over 353 acres, overlooking the confluence of the river Nethravathi with the Arabian Sea on one side, and the cloud-capped Western Ghats on the other. It grew out of a modest Postgraduate Centre of the University of Mysore to become the focal point of an independent University in 1980. The campus, which once housed only three postgraduate departments, now has 26 postgraduate departments, supported by modern infrastructure and experienced faculty. Mangalore University has grown impressively since its inception with 204 affiliated colleges, two constituent colleges (at Mangalore and Madikeri) and five autonomous colleges. The University has established Jnana Kaveri, the PG Centre at Chikka Aluvara, Somwarpet taluk, Kodagu district, with two departments, and offers 11 postgraduate and two Ph D. programmes.

The University campus is a self-contained facility that provides all the essential facilities and infrastructure for the pursuit of excellence in higher education. Among the several central facilities at Mangalagangothri, mention may be made of the spacious and modern library, University Science Instrumentation Centre, Microtron Centre, Humanities Block, MBA Block, Science Faculty Building, and a Cybercafe. In the campus, there are three internationally recognized science research centres: (i) Microtron Centre, (ii) Center for Application of Radiation and Radioisotope Technology (CARRT), (iii) Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Radioactivity (CARER), which have been established through funding from Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. Under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, the special scheme, Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) for the development of research infrastructure in Universities, has enabled establishment of state-of-the-art research facilities on the campus.

There is an impressive administrative building, two guest houses for visiting dignitaries and faculty, a well-equipped health centre, a shopping complex, two nationalized banks, and an ATM centre. A post office and a telephone exchange function from the campus. The University has provided a good number of residential quarters for its employees on the campus itself.

The University has taken steps to establish contacts through the exchange of scholars and students with universities in USA, UK, Finland, Japan, Norway, Germany, Spain and other countries. MoUs have been established with leading institutions of the world for research collaboration. A number of our faculty have been able to get fellowships and visit various universities to carry out their postdoctoral work. They have been on research assignments with assistance from Commonwealth, Humboldt, Rotary, Agatha Harrison Memorial, Rockefeller and Macarthur fellowships. The University has thus taken steps to benefit from the current trend of globalization. Eminent scientists and scholars have been empaneled as Adjunct Faculty to improving the quality and quantum of research, and to support the teaching programmes. An International Students Centre too has been set up to facilitate internationalization in the campus profile.

Today, the University is a major centre for the study of ecology and environment. Some of the affiliated colleges of the University have direct institutional linkages with reputed national and international institutions of learning. Many new courses of study have been introduced for the first time in the country. The University was the first to start undergraduate programmes such as Hotel Management, Human Resource Development, Fashion Design and Yogic Sciences. All these courses have attracted students from other parts of the country and abroad

The University has computerized its administrative offices to speed up the administrative process. All postgraduate departments have been provided with Computers, Internet facility and Centrex telephones. The computerization of the examination section has facilitated the holding of examinations on schedule and the timely announcement of results. A University website has been created, which holds the database of all the colleges and postgraduate departments. Application forms to various courses and results of admissions and examinations are also available on the University website.

Mangalore University adheres to order and discipline in all academic matters: academic programmes are run on schedule, examinations are conducted on time, and the UGC norm of 180 working days in a year is fulfilled. A total of 429 full time and 394 part-time scholars are pursuing their doctoral studies, and faculty members are engaged in active research along with their teaching assignments. The University has received major grants from the UGC, DST, Govt. of Karnataka, Department of Ocean Development, Department of Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Space, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Atomic Energy and other nodal agencies. All these have given the University national and international visibility.

Under-graduate and postgraduate courses in the distance education mode have been introduced for the benefit of students to promote higher education through non-formal means through the distance education mode. The rationale of the distance education mode is to make learning accessible for those who, for various reasons, cannot avail the benefit of regular courses.

The Campus is also recognized as a Green Campus: it has secured the first place nationally and 139th place globally during 2020 in the Global Green metrics rankings initiated by the Universitas Indonesias a decade ago. During the Covid-19 pandemic, online classes were held for students from May onwards even during lockdown and examinations was conducted as per Government and UGC directives during September/October 2020, and results announced soon thereafter. Special exams have been conducted for those who could not take the regular examinations, during December. An important student-friendly initiative was enabling outstation students to take exams in special centres recognized for the purpose in states such as Manipur in the North-East, and even abroad in Bhutan and Sri Lanka, besides having examination centres all over the state to facilitate students from other districts, and permitting local hostel students within the distrust to write their exams in the colleges nearest to their homes.