The University of Calicut is an affiliating university in the southern state of Kerala in India. It is situated in Thenjipalam, in the district of Malappuram with a number of off-campus centres in neighbouring districts. The University conducts courses and examinations for the students of the affiliated colleges. The main campus in Thenjipalam has departments in most of the science and humanities areas. The departments offer post graduate courses and research programmes. However, the main business in the campus is administration and conduct of examinations for all the affiliated colleges which number above 250. Calicut University was established in 1968 and was administered by Dr. M.M.Ghani in the 1970s. The University had especially strong faculty in Physics, Zoology, Chemistry, Botany, History, Malayalam, English and Physical Education. The Campus locales spread over around 400 acres (1.6 km) in rural Malappuram district, had the feel of a hill station. In the 1980s, a Cockroft-Walton particle accelerator was put in place on campus.