The choice between the North and South campuses is one of the most challenging decisions students must make before joining the University of Delhi. A campus is often a deciding factor in college choices and can break ties between colleges perceived as equal. There are merits and demerits of both campuses. 

It is always tricky for students to choose among all the constituent colleges of Delhi University, making a choice nearly impossible. So let us introduce to you the fame that North Campus radiates and the pride that South Campus students take pride in.

North Campus vs South Campus – Comparison

Parameters	North Campus	South Campus
Academics	Very Good	Very Good
Extracurriculars	Very Good	Very Good
Crowd	Very Good	Very Good
Fee Structure	Affordable fee structure except for minority colleges.
College Fests	Crossroads, Renaissance, Mecca, Tempest, etc.	Montage, Nexus, Reverie, etc.
Accessibility	High Nearest Metro Station – Vishwavidalaya & GTB Nagar	Low Stations spread over Pink Line Metro then a rickshaw.
Proximity to Other Colleges	Due to the close proximity of the colleges, students often travel to other campuses for fests and competitions.	With the exception of a few colleges, most colleges are far apart, making travel between them inconvenient.
Campus Common Areas	North Campus has multiple common areas like Arts Faculty, VC Lawns, and other places for students to assemble and hang out.	There are no such possibilities on South Campus.
Hostel Facility	Available. PGs are also available.	Not Available. Only PGs are available.
Rent	Low to Moderate	High
Safety	Low to Moderate North Campus is relatively unsafe as phone snatchings and even robberies are common.	Moderate to High South Campus is generally very safe for stepping out even during late hours.
Shopping Spots	Kamla Nagar Market Tibetan Market GTB Nagar	Sarojini Nagar Market Lajpat Nagar or Central Market  Hauz Khas Market  Khan Market  GK M – Block Market
Food Joints	Big Yellow Door; QD’s; Echoes; Burgrill; Ricos; Dolma Aunty Momos; Tom Uncle Maggi; Chache Di Hatti, and more.	Big Yellow Door; QD’s; Diggin; The Treat; Kev’s Cafe; Woodbox Cafe; WoW Momos, and more.
Night Life	Low	High

North Campus vs South Campus – Everything North Campus! 

The North Campus is home to colleges like SRCC that offer the best programs in commerce. There are three oldest colleges in the city – Hindu, Ramjas, and St. Stephens, which is 100 years old and located on the North Campus. The best science, commerce, and arts colleges are situated within a one-kilometer radius to give students the utmost out of university life. Within campus premises, outstation students can find affordable PGs and Hostels. All of the colleges are located within a short distance, and they are easily accessible by the Vishwidalaya or GTB Nagar Metro Station.

The North Campus offers excellent street food. The Delhi School of Economics college canteen is famous among the students for its delicacies. After college, Kamla Nagar market and Hudson Lane are the most frequent places visited by students for relaxing and quenching their hunger. However, the north campus only has the Kamla Nagar market, which does not offer a wide range of clothes. Hence, students will have to visit Connaught Place or Sarojini Nagar market.

Full List of North Campus Colleges

Aditi Mahavidyalaya (For Women)	Delhi School of Journalism	Hansraj College
Indraprastha College (For Women)	Swami Shraddhanand College	Ramjas College
Daulat Ram College (For Women)	Delhi School of Economics	St. Stephen’s College
Miranda House (For Women)	Shri Ram College of Commerce	Satyawati College
Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce	Faculty of Management Studies College	Kirori Mal College
Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College	Laxmibai College (For Women)	Lady Irwin College
Maharaja Agrasen College	School of Open Learning	Shyamlal College
Cluster Innovation Center	Hindu College	Kalindi College
Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies	Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research (ACBR).

The Beauty of North Campus

With its iconic red bricks and early twentieth-century architecture, the North Campus is home to historically significant learning institutions. The surroundings and architecture at Delhi University are other advantages. In addition to foodies and intellectuals, Delhi University North Campus is also a hotspot for architecture lovers. The Ridge has become a popular hangout spot for student groups.

Academics

Delhi University’s North Campus is the most popular among students. Besides providing the best education, Delhi University also has colleges like St. Stephens, SRCC, Hindu, Ramjas, Kirorimal, Hansraj, Miranda, and Khalsa located in close proximity, giving students a real campus experience, which is every student’s dream. Colleges like Miranda House and St. Stephen’s campus have an iconic infrastructure. With a cup of tea from the Sudama tea stall, students can enjoy a relaxing evening on VC’s lawn.

Fee Structure

The fee structure is not a financial burden as it is lower than other universities. However, minority colleges have a comparatively higher fee structure. 

Reachability

Students on North Campus can enjoy a fantastic campus life experience since the colleges are located very close to one another. Located near Vishwavidalaya station and GTB Nagar metro station, the colleges are easily accessible. Students can walk to the colleges or take a sharing e-rickshaw. If students are traveling in groups, autos are often an excellent alternative.

Affordable Accommodation

Students and staff can find affordable accommodations in hostels and PGs within the campus premises. Since all colleges are close, the nearby residential areas offer students endless rented housing options. Malka Ganj and Kamla Nagar are within walking distance of the Delhi University Campus and the Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station. Additionally, Hudson Lane, Shakti Nagar, GTB Nagar, and Model Town are some attractive options for reasonable accommodation.

Night Life

The nightlife of the North campus is relatively unsafe as robberies are common. Most cafes are open until 11 p.m., following which students can go to other places for fun. 

College Fest

The College Fest season is a star-studded event held for two or three days with treasure hunts, quizzes, games, DJs, live concerts, and other entertainment activities. There are food stalls, game stations to play and win prizes, singing, dancing, acting, and fashion show competitions where students from other colleges participate, and other stalls to purchase beautiful items. SRCC’s Crossroads, Miranda House’s Tempest, and Kirorimal’s Renaissance are famous fests at Delhi University. 

Food Nearby

Although street food is readily available on any campus, the North Campus has the best restaurants and dhabas serving delicious food with an excellent ambiance. Students prefer to dine out during weekends, so a place that meets their budget and their taste is essential. North Campus also features a diverse range of street food options and quaint cafes. Canteens at DSE, SRCC, and Hindu colleges are famous for their delicious food available at affordable prices. Kamla Nagar, GTB Nagar, Hudson Lane, and Majnu ka Tilla are the favorites for North Campus students due to the beautiful ambiance.

Numerous themed cafes are located here, including Big Yellow Door, Burgrill, Ricos, and Echoes. Tom Uncle’s Maggi, Chache di Hatti’s Chole Bhature, and Dolma Aunty Momos satiate students’ hunger on a tight budget.

Shopping Nearby

The campus does not offer many shopping spots besides the Kamla Nagar and the Tibetan markets. Kamla Nagar market provides clothes and accessories at affordable rates and a center for stationery items and books.

Kamla Nagar Market

The inexpensive Kamla Nagar market provides a world of street-style fashion, fantastic dumplings and noodles. Due to its closeness to North Campus colleges, it is one of the foremost places to relax during mid-lecture breaks.

Students prefer North Campus to South Campus for the reasons outlined above. However, to prevent any bias, let’s talk about South Campus now. 

North Campus vs South Campus – Everything South Campus! 

If the north campus has SRCC, the south has LSR and Venky. Recent renovations have provided spectacular infrastructure for these colleges. The colleges on South Campus are distributed over a wide area. South Campus’ several colleges are not well-connected to metro stations, making the North Campus a preferable alternative for students interested in experiencing university life. As a result, students see the North Campus as superior to South Campus, and despite getting admission to a South Campus college, students prefer a North Campus college.

There are several food outlets at South Campus for students to try. Students’ most popular hangout place in Satya Niketan, opposite Sri Venkateswara College. The bhel puri stall outside LSR competes with that outside Hindu College. South Campus has many famous student hangout places like Hauz Khas Village, Satya Niketan, Lajpat Nagar, and Sarojini Nagar. Even students from the North campus go to Sarojini  Nagar market for clothes shopping. PG accommodation on South Campus is more expensive than on the North Campus due to the posh locality. 

Students from all across the country want to study at Delhi University’s premier South Campus colleges, particularly for their undergraduate programs in liberal arts and sciences. The star colleges of the South Campus are Lady Shri Ram College, Sri Venkateswara College, Jesus & Mary College and Gargi College offering wisdom, intellectual growth, and creative genius to their students.  

Full List of South Campus Colleges 

Aryabhatta College	Gargi College	Ramanujan College
Jesus & Mary College	Maitreyi College	Deshbandhu College
Ram Lal Anand College	Rajdhani College	Sri Venkateswara College
Motilal Nehru College	Shaheed Bhagat Singh College	Kamala Nehru College
College of Vocational Studies	Delhi College of Arts & Commerce	Institute of Home Economics
Atma Ram Sanatan Dharam College	S.P Jain Center for Management Studies	Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Dyal Singh College	Sri Aurobindo College

Serenity of South Campus

There are relatively new and modern buildings in the South, but its proximity to many cultural centers makes it stand out. The Garden of Five Senses in Saket, the Hauz Khas Fort, the IIC with its beautiful structures to the lush green Lodhi Garden, North Delhi, lack nature’s serenity.

Satya Niketan and Defence Colony

Satya Niketan and Defence Colony are popular hangouts for the South Delhi residents and student population since they are less crowded than North Campus’s Hudson Lane and GTB Nagar Market. Satya Niketan comes as a leisurely respite from the chaos of college life, especially for the students of Sri Venkateswara College. Cafes such as Big Yellow Door, Cafeteria and Co., and QDs in Satya Niketan, as well as Hunger Strike and Nagpal’s Chole Bhature in Lajpat Nagar and Defence Colony, satiate the hunger and the taste buds.

Azaadi from the Crowd

Students at the South Campus understand and value the advantages of living away from a crowded campus. There are many south campus colleges in various localities like Sri Venkateswara College in Dhaula Kuan, Maitreyi College and Jesus & Mary College in Chanakyapuri, Lady Shri Ram College in Lajpat Nagar, Gargi College in Green Park, and Sri Aurobindo College in Malviya Nagar. It seems that North Campus students do not realize the joy associated with walking out of college and stepping into an environment filled with oxygen instead of sweat.

Academics

The South Campus has some of the best colleges of Delhi University, such as Sri Venkateswar, JMC, LSR, Maitryi, Kamla Nehru, and ARSD. LSR offers excellent infrastructure, while JMC has an iconic building that will captivate students on the South campus. However, the fee structure is consistent among different colleges of Delhi University. However, like St. Stephens on the North Campus, Jesus and Mary College is a minority college, having a relatively higher fee structure than other colleges.

Reachability

Colleges in Delhi University’s South Campus are poorly connected and lack connectivity. Some are not close to the metro stations, which kills the campus vibe compared to the North campus, whose colleges provide the best campus life. While the fest season is in full swing, students need to take an auto or taxi to reach another campus. However, the pink line metro stations provide a respite to the students by providing the much-needed connectivity. 

Accommodation

Due to the posh locality, it is generally hard to find accommodation within budget for students in South Campus. Transportation is also more expensive than the traveling expenses of North Campus students. However, sharing autos aid in keeping the travel within budget. 

Night Life

Compared to North Campus, South Campus offers a safer nightlife experience. Clubs, bars, and pubs are conveniently located near South Campus, providing a vibrant nightlife.

College Fest

Many people flock to the South Campus fests to enjoy the star-studded fest season with DJ night, garnished with the South Delhi fashion fest at Venky’s Nexus, LSR’s Tarang, and JMC’s Montage, and Gargi’s Reverie. South Campus celebrates College Fests for 2-3 days and offers various games and unique prizes sponsored by big brands. Moreover, Some colleges like IHE in Hauz Khas organize rain dances. 

Food Nearby

South campus also has a variety of eateries for students to enjoy. College canteens of LSR, PGDAV, and Venky provide a wide variety of food at pocket-friendly prices. Students prefer Satya Niketan for its cuisine and attractive prices. Like the north campus, the South Campus has several theme-based restaurants and cafes like the Echoes, Big Yellow Door, and Diggin, one of the exquisite cafes in South Delhi serving delicious Italian food.

Students can also visit The Treat, located just behind Jesus & Mary College, and is decorated with photos and pictures of actor Rajesh Khanna. The cafe attracts visitors from around the globe who love the unique idea of dedicating a cafe to the Bollywood superstar. However, these cafes are expensive due to the location and ambiance. As a result, students on a tight budget can enjoy tasty street food at affordable prices in Central Market or  Satyaniketan.  

Shopping Nearby

GK M-Block Market, Lajpat Nagar Market, Hauz Khas Market, and Sarojini Nagar Market are popular shopping destinations for students living on South Campus. However, GK M-Block Market and Sarojini Nagar Market are the most popular. North campus students visit there for the latest trend at reasonable pricing. Walking through Hauz Khas, celebrating the morning, and enjoying the city of Delhi is an exciting experience for students.

Perfect Evenings

Students at South Campus can choose between a quiet evening and a wild night out dancing. All colleges are conveniently located near places like Nehru Place, Satya Niketan, and Hauz Khas Village, giving students easy access to the hottest events in the city and a party euphoria. Students can shop, see movies, or stroll along DLF Place Saket, Select Citywalk, or Promenade when not partying. GK M Block and Green Park Market provide students with the perfect evening break from their busy days as they enjoy the streetside food and bright lights! It is impossible to undermine the allure of Sarojini Nagar Market. Dilli Haat in INA offers students delicious regional specialties from states they want to visit. 

North Campus vs South Campus – The Bottom Line 

Apart from the long, arduous hours spent at college campuses and libraries trying to get high grades and bickering about which college is better, this is a never-ending battle between the two pillars of DU. We leave the decision of North Campus vs South Campus to the students of Delhi University.

To know more about various colleges located n both the campuses visit our College Guide.

North Campus vs South Campus – Frequently Asked Questions