Patna University was established by an Act of the Imperial Legislative Council passed in September 1917.

[2] It started the journey in October 1917 as an affiliating and examining body when JG Jennings took charge of this university as the first vice-chancellor.

The iconic Wheeler Senate House of the Patna University was built in 1926 for which Raja Devaki Nandan Prasad of Munger donated the money.

[3] When the university was first established it had jurisdiction over all higher educational institutes of Bihar, Odisha, and the Kingdom of Nepal.

[11] The university and its affiliated colleges and institutions offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses in fields including law, teacher training, science, arts, commerce, medicine, and engineering.

Admission in these courses is mainly based on the result of common entrance test (CET) conducted by Patna University.