The government of Karnataka has changed the status of the St. Joseph Autonomous College and upgraded it to St. Joseph’s University. The status was conferred on 2nd July 2022, after passing the St. Joseph’s University Bill in February 2021.

The process to declare St. Joseph’s College into university ended last week and was formally announced yesterday. It was established in 1882 and is one of the oldest colleges in Karnataka, managed by the Karnataka Province Jesus society, also known as (Jesuits).

Some renowned alumni of the college are scientist Raja Ramanna, scientist and activist Amulya Reddy, political leaders M Y Ghorpade, Kumar Bangarappa, former chief election commissioner T S Krishnamurthy, Rajeev Gowda, historian Janaki Nair, and many others.

In 2013, the ministry of education launched the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). The government bodies conferred the decision to provide university status to St. Joseph College during that time.