It is the oldest and largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and the curriculum offered.

[1][4] On 24 March 1972, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, inaugurated the University of Mauritius.

[1][5] The first chancellor of the university was Her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy.

The Faculty of Agriculture operates the UoM Farm, an open laboratory of 8.5 hectares (21 acres).

[1] Faculty of Information, Communication and Digital Technologies (FoICDT) has been set-up to essentially respond to the significant human resource needs, in terms of quantity and quality, of the country to make Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector the main pillar of the economy.

It comprises six departments: Biosciences; Chemistry; Health Sciences; Mathematics; Medicine; and Physics.