The University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot Karnataka is the third Horticulture University in the country and first in the State, which came into existence through a Special Ordinance issued by the Governor of Karnataka vide No.2 of 2008 on 22^nd November, 2008 and duly enacted by Karnataka Act No.11 of 2010 dated 13-05-2010. Bagalkot was rightly chosen for University headquarters as the district is known for its rich horticultural production base of grapes, pomegranate, banana, lime, sapota, ber, fig, vegetables, beetle vine, coconut, spices and medicinal plants. This region possesses congenial climate for production of all kinds of horticulture crops besides its rich historical and cultural heritage making it an ideal place as headquarter of the Horticulture University.

The University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot has its jurisdiction covering 23 districts of Karnataka with nine colleges, four Diploma Courses in Horticulture, 11 Research Stations including three Regional Horticultural Research and Extension Centers and 10 AICRP centres, 12 Horticultural Extension Education Units (HEEUs) and one Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) spread over all the agro climatic zones of Karnataka.