Devi Ahilya University, formerly Indore University, is a State University whose jurisdiction was initially restricted to Indore city. Later on, its jurisdiction was extended to seven tribal-dominated districts of Indore division namely, Jhabua, Alirajpur, Dhar, Khargone, Khandwa, Burhanpur and Barwani. It is thus catering to the educational needs of the most industrially developed district of Madhya Pradesh, Indore on one hand. And to the seven tribal and rural backward districts of the State on the other. The only university in Madhya Pradesh to receive an A+ grade from NAAC is DAVV.

Ahilya Devi
An Act of the Legislature of Madhya Pradesh created the Vishwavidyalaya, previously the University of Indore, in 1964. Dr. Zakir Hussain, then Vice President of India, inaugurated the university in 1964. The university's purview was only the district of Indore.

The institution was renamed "Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya" in 1988 to honour the Holkar Maharani "Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar" of the Maratha Empire. Since the word "university" in Hindi is "vishwavidyalaya," the institution is referred to as Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya.

During reorganization of the universities, its jurisdiction was expanded over to Indore division, which spans over seven districts.