[1] Chowdhury earned his master's degree in Sociology from the University of Dhaka and Ph.D. from Delhi School of Economics.
[1][2] On 1 August 2002, Chowdhury, along with proctor Nazrul Islam, resigned from the vice-chancellor position of the University of Dhaka following an assault into Shamsunnahar Hall, a female hall, by male police on 23 July.
The female students had been protesting the illegal stay of political activists in the university dormitories.
[3][4] Chowdhury faced criticism at that time for failing to take measures against the police assault.
[5] In August 2015, a trust fund, worth of 600,000 Taka, named "Professor DR Anwarullah Chowdhury Trust Fund" was established at Anthropology Department of the University of Dhaka.