The Punjab Agricultural University was established in 1962 to serve the state of erstwhile Punjab. On the reorganization of Punjab, two independent universities for the two states - Punjab and Haryana were established under the Haryana and Punjab Agricultural Universities Act, 1970

Started by Dr Banarsi Das Soni as a medical school for training doctors and providing medical care in a rented building in 1934, the school admitted 20 students in the first batch. The school was shifted to its own building in 1937 and christened Dayanand Medical College in 1964.