The Gujarat Agricultural University started functioning in June 1972. It was established with specific mandates of promoting productivity of agriculture by pursuing research in agriculture and allied sciences. The unique feature of the Gujarat Agricultural University was a multi-campus set-up. The other three campuses were at Junagadh, Navsari and Anand.

Since 2004, the GAU was split into four campuses. The Gujarat Agricultural University started functioning with specific mandates for promoting productivity of agriculture through the pursuance of research in agriculture and allied sciences. The Gujarat Agricultural University had 11 constituent colleges faculties which undertook undergraduate and postgraduate teaching under a semester system.

The total number of students who have graduated from the Gujarat Agricultural University (until 1996) were 8532 in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Renewable Energy & Environmental Engineering, Dairy Science, Basic Science and HumanitiesAgricultural Engineering, Horticulture and Forestry, Home Science and Fisheries. 2159 students have obtained Masters, and 393 have acquired their PhD degrees.