GRI was founded by
G. Ramachandran and his wife
T.S. Soundaram, in 1956. It adopted the education model of
Mahatma Gandhi,
Nai Talim. In 1976, it was declared a
Deemed University by the
University Grants Commission (UGC) under Section 3 of the
UGC Act, 1956. It is fully funded by the UGC. In 2006, it was renamed Gandhigram Rural Institute as per the guidelines of UGC. The institute has developed into a major educational complex, comprising seven faculties, offering more than 50 programmes. It awards
doctoral,
master's and
bachelor's degrees, diplomas, and certificates through its seven academic faculties: rural development, rural economics and extension education, rural-oriented sciences, cooperation, development administration, rural sociology, and English, Tamil and Indian languages. It has 3000 students, 150 teaching and 250 non-teaching staff. The institute was accredited with a five-star status by the
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2002, and with an A grade during re-accreditation in 2010 and 2016. == Campus ==