Jamia Millia Islamia, in colonial India in 1920, has had a long history of growth. It became a Central University by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988. It grew from a small institution in the pre-independence India to a central university located in New Delhi—offering integrated education from nursery to research in specialized areas. In the list of its Faculties, i.e. Education, Humanities & Languages, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Engineering & Technology, the Faculty of Law, was added in 1989. Many new courses and programmes at UG and PG levels have since been added.

Besides this the university has a number of centres of learning and research, like Mass Communication Research Centre (MCRC), Academy of Third World Studies (ATWS), Information Technology (IT), etc.

Admissions to all the courses in Jamia Millia Islamia are held annually. Candidates seeking admission to any course are required to submit the prescribed Application Form which may be obtained from the University on payment of the prescribed fees. It may also be downloaded from the university website and submitted along with the fees as mentioned in the Prospectus. Only original downloaded Forms should be submitted along with the prescribed fee. The candidates are required to go through an Entrance Test which is followed by an Interview and, in some specific courses, a Group Discussion is also held.