Motto in English Faith and Toil Campus Urban Phone 080 2227 4079 | Affiliation Jesuit, Roman Catholic Affiliations Bangalore University Founded 1882 | |
Established 1882; 135 years ago (1882) Location Bangalore, Karnataka, India Address 36, Lal Bagh Main Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560027 Motto Fide et Labore (Faith and Toil) Similar Christ University, SJPUC, St Joseph's College of Commerce, Jyoti Nivas College, Jain University Profiles | ||
St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Bangalore, is one of the oldest colleges in the state of Karnataka with a history of more than 130 years. It has been conferred as College of Excellence by the University Grants Commission (India). It was awarded the highest rating, A (3.73/4), in the re-accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2007. It imparts graduate, post-graduate and research education. The college has an admission policy of preferential option for the poor.
Together with its sister institutions, the St. Joseph's Boys' High School and the St. Joseph's Indian High School, the St. Joseph's College has staff to respond to the needs of more than 5000 students. The institution has four main buildings, located in the center of the Cantonment.
History
The College was founded in 1882 by the Fathers of the French Foreign Mission. The need for instituting a college of this magnitude in Bangalore was felt by the Catholic missionaries and it was the Vicar Apostolic of the Coramandel Coast, Rev. Dr. Bonnand, who proposed the idea in 1841, in a letter to Fr. Bertrand. Complying with the order, the Foreign Missions Society of Paris bought a plot of land on St. John's Hill and gradually made the transition to the location it occupies today. The Cantonment of Bangalore now had an educational institution that would cater to the needs of the students, just as the Central College was doing for the Bangalore City area. St. Joseph's was set up in 1882 because of the salubrious climate and strategic position of Bangalore, and the need to provide education for the small Catholic community comprising about 1000 Europeans and 5000 Indians. In 1904 the Indian section was separated from the European section.
On 1 June 1937, the management of the College was transferred to the Society of Jesus. At the time the college consisted of one building, constructed in 1925, accommodating 350 students.
In 2001 the College moved from the Residency Road campus to new premises in the erstwhile Hostel Campus at the intersection of Langford Road and Lalbagh Road. It was one of five Bangalore colleges that were awarded academic autonomy in the year 2005. In 2014 the College was cited for its model library facility.