NUALS Kalamassery: Campus Guide for New Students and Visitors

Key facts

NUALS was created by an Act of the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 2005; it began in 2002 as the National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, affiliated to CUSAT.
Classes were first held at the Government Girls’ High School, Kaloor, before the university moved to its permanent 10-acre campus in the KINFRA Hi-Tech Park, Kalamassery, in 2011.
The Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala is the Chancellor of NUALS.
Admission to the BA LLB (Hons) and LLM programmes is through CLAT, run by the Consortium of National Law Universities.
Wikipedia gives NUALS’s student population as about 500 and its library as holding over 18,000 books.

Front of the Ashraf Gents Hostel building with its upstairs balcony and green shade net, Kalamassery. See all hostel photos

Where NUALS Kalamassery is

First-time visitors often expect NUALS to be next to CUSAT, or in the city near the High Court. It is neither. The NUALS Kalamassery campus is inside the KINFRA Hi-Tech Park on the HMT side of town, north-east of NH 544, with the official address NUALS Campus, H.M.T. Colony P.O., Kalamassery, Ernakulam 683503. Its neighbours along HMT Road are the KINFRA Hi-Tech Park, the old HMT factory and, further on, the Government Medical College.

People search for it in many ways — ‘NUALS Kochi’, ‘NUALS Cochin’, ‘NUALS Kalamaserry’, ‘national law university Kerala’ — and all point to the same campus. If you are giving directions to a driver, ‘NUALS, KINFRA, HMT Road’ works better than ‘law college’, which can mean Government Law College in Ernakulam city.

National University of Advanced Legal Studies, HMT Colony, Kalamassery. Open in Google Maps · Directions from Ashraf Gents Hostel

How to reach the campus

Starting point	Suggested route	Notes
Kalamassery metro station	Bus or auto up to HMT Junction and along HMT Road to KINFRA	The usual route; see the metro station guide
Aluva railway station	Aluva metro south to Kalamassery, then bus or auto	Most long-distance trains stop at Aluva
Ernakulam Junction / Town	Metro north to Kalamassery, then bus or auto	Avoids highway traffic
Cochin airport	Feeder bus to Aluva metro, or a taxi direct	A taxi is simpler with luggage

For the roads around the campus, read HMT Junction and Medical College Road. Late evening, autos are easier to find at the metro end than at the campus end, so arrange a return ride if you have an event that finishes late.

A short history of NUALS

NUALS began in 2002 as the National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, affiliated to Cochin University of Science and Technology. In 2005 the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed the Act that made it a university. For its first years it had no campus of its own and held classes at the Government Girls’ High School in Kaloor. It moved to the present campus in the KINFRA Hi-Tech Park in 2011.

Like other national law universities, it has close links to the judiciary: the Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala is its Chancellor. Prof. G. B. Reddy took office as Vice-Chancellor in 2025, according to Wikipedia; check the NUALS contact page for current officials.

Courses and admission

BA LLB (Hons) — the five-year integrated programme, admitted through CLAT.
LLM (one year) — specialisations listed include constitutional law, international trade law and public health law; also through CLAT.
Executive LLM — a three-year programme for working professionals.
Postgraduate diplomas and PhD — see the university website for current notifications.

Seat numbers, fees and reservation details change every year; take them from the CLAT Consortium and NUALS notices, not from coaching blogs. If you are coming to Kalamassery for admission or document verification, our first-week checklist helps with the basics.

Campus life: library, moots and events

The campus is small, with a student body of around 500, so it feels more like a large college than a sprawling university. The Dr. N. Narayanan Nair Memorial Library holds over 18,000 books, and the NUALS Law Journal has been published since 2005.

Mooting is a big part of life. NUALS teams have won the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot (2023) and the Stetson International Environmental Law Moot (2020), and LiveLaw reported a NUALS team winning the Best Applicant Memorial at the Jessup International Moot in 2026. The university also hosts competitions: in October 2026, for example, both the NUALS–CCI National Antitrust Moot and the third edition of the NUALS Moot scheduled their final rounds on campus. Visitors coming for such events should read our trip-planning guide for NUALS visitors.

Food, shops and services nearby

The KINFRA area is an industrial and institutional zone, so there is less street life right outside the gate than you might expect. For meals, most students go to the eateries around HMT Junction and the Medical College; for groceries, banking and phone repairs, Kalamassery and Edappally have the choice. Useful pages:

Places to eat near NAD Road and HMT Junction
Libraries and study spaces for when the campus library is full
Banks and ATMs for opening an account as a newcomer

Living off campus: where Ashraf Gents Hostel fits

Students should first check the university’s own hostel allotment. LLM and PhD scholars, executive LLM students coming for contact classes, and research staff sometimes prefer a private room. Ashraf Gents Hostel — a men-only hostel/PG at Ashraf house, NAD Road, at the signal in Kalamassery — lists NUALS among the places within about 3 km on its public profile. The indicative rate is about ₹2,000–3,000 per head per month, negotiable, with one month’s advance, confirmed on +91 90746 23855; the photos show twin-sharing rooms and a shared kitchen. For a fuller discussion of off-campus living for law students, see PG near NUALS.

Frequently asked questions

Where is NUALS Kalamassery located?

In the KINFRA Hi-Tech Park on the HMT side of Kalamassery, Kochi. The postal address is NUALS Campus, H.M.T. Colony P.O., Kalamassery, Ernakulam 683503.

Which metro station is nearest to NUALS?

Kalamassery metro station on NH 544. From there take a bus or auto up HMT Road to the KINFRA campus.

How do I get admission to NUALS?

BA LLB (Hons) and LLM admissions are through CLAT, conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities. Check NUALS notices for other programmes.

Is NUALS the same as Government Law College Ernakulam?

No. NUALS is a national law university in Kalamassery; Government Law College is a separate institution in Ernakulam city.

When did NUALS move to Kalamassery?

It moved to its 10-acre campus in the KINFRA Hi-Tech Park in 2011, after early years in Kaloor.

Sources

Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile and photos; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. Last reviewed 7 October 2026. How we write these guides: editorial notes. Map embeds © Google.