Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a government owned autonomous university in Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, India. Founded in 1971, the university consists of three campuses, two in Kochi and one in Kuttanad, Alappuzha, 66 km inland. The university awards degrees in engineering and allied subjects at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels. Nearly 2,000 students engage yearly in undergraduate and postgraduate study in this university. The institute was poised to become an Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology (IIEST) entitled "IIEST Kochi", but the proposal was rejected by the state government. Originally known as University of Cochin, the university came into being in 1971 through an Act of the Legislature of Government of Kerala that was the result of a concerted campaign for postgraduate education in the State of Kerala. The university was reorganized into Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in February 1986.