The Central University of Karnataka, (CUK), is a central university situated in Kadaganchi village in the Aland taluka of Kalaburagi district in the Indian state of Karnataka.

It was established by an Act of the Parliament of India in 2009, "The Central Universities Act, 2009".

[5][6] The university started operating from its permanent campus at the Gulbarga-Waghdhari inter-state highway in Aland taluka identified by the Karnataka State Government.

[7] The Central Universities Bill 2009 aimed at creating a new central university each in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

[8] It also sought to convert Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya in Chhattisgarh, Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya in Sagar (Madhya Pradesh) and Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Uttarakhand into Central universities.