The Government Arts College for Women was established in 1966 with the main objective of providing higher education for Women of Thanjavur. The College was renamed as 'Kunthavai Naacchiyaar Governement Arts College for Women' in memory of the illustrious Sister of Raja Raja Chola on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary celebration of the Coronation of the Great King of Thanjavur. The decision of the Government of Tamil Nadu has helped the women of Thanjavur who are otherwise tradition bound and were hesitant to go even to nearby places in pursuit of Higher Education.

The College was housed in the Thanjavur Palace premises itself in the beginning and in 1970 it was shifted to its own two storeyed building in a sprawling campus of 17.5 acres. When more academic programmes were introduced in the College, there was increased demand for space and subsequently, more buildings were constructed with generous grants from the Government of Tamil Nadu. The infrastructure has been further strengthened with the Constituency Development Fund received through the Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Assembly. In order to meet the increased demand for space, the Tamil Nadu Government has sanctioned ? 31.9 Lakhs to the College for the construction of a building with 5 Classrooms in the year 2009. Recently Government has sanctioned ? 1,92,00,000/- for the construction of 31 classrooms. It is under construction.

To be a leading institution that provides quality, affordable and transformative pedago
To create a dynamic and dialogic educational environ that engages the students in the learning process.
To enhance the knowledge domain through research and scholarship.
to provide an education that transforms students into social and academic innovators.
to sustain a caring and supporting ambiance in the college.

Eligibility
BBA -10+2
B.Sc- 10+2
M.Sc- Graduation
BA- 10+2
MA- Graduation

College
The total area of the campus is 17.5 acres. The college has spacious administrative segment, departments and class rooms.

Departments
All the 14 departments have good infrastructure facilities. Adequate numbers of class rooms have been allotted to all the departments. All the departments are provided with computers and internet facility. All the departments have their own departmental library with adequate number of books.

Library as Learning Resource
The Library has separate Halls for housing the books, journals, magazines and reference books. In terms of learning resources, the library has a good collection of books and e-books in addition to subscribing a number of journals and audio-video cassettes. The library has INFLIBNET and DELNET facilities. Through the university's digital library, the students and faculty members can have access to more than 10,000 electronic books. The number of books, journals and periodicals are updated every year. In addition to the above central facility, the departments have their own libraries.

Hostels
A good hostel with 44 rooms is available to cater to need of residential students. The hostel has recreation facilities like gymnasium, yoga centre etc.

Sports facility
The sports infrastructure includes Volley Ball, Kho-Kho, football grounds, and yoga centre. We train our students in indoor and outdoor games to participate in University level competitions.