Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram was popularly known as H.H. The Maharaja’s College for Arts is one of the oldest undergraduate and postgraduate was established in 1924 but came into existence in 1948.

It is one of the premier colleges established to impart & provide in the field of higher education for the deserving candidates and prove to be a milestone on the part of progress.

The college is affiliated with University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram and it is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) under section 2(f) & 12(B) in 1980 under Act, 1956.

It is re-accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with "B+" Grade (CGPA Score 2.67 on a 4 Point Scale in 2nd Cycle) on 28th March 2017.

The aim of the college is inculcating in students social consciousness and help them to take up social works also to offer proper counseling to those who suffer from emotional stress and other problems.

It is a co-educational government Institute, providing a regular course in which is located in the urban part of Thiruvananthapuram played a pioneering role in the field of higher education.

Originally a part of H.H. The Maharaja’s College, Thiruvananthapuram, it was separated from the parent institution in 1924.

On 9th May 1924 issued by the (Government of H.H. The Maharaja of Travancore) to house the Arts Departments, and named H.H. The Maharaja’s College of Arts. The parent college was named H.H. The Maharaja’s College of Science.

When the new college opened on the 4th of July, 1924, the Departments of History, Economics, Sanskrit and Dravidian Languages and English were transferred to it from the parent institution.

Honors courses in English, History, and Economics were also conducted here at that time. The Department of Philosophy was opened in 1925.

Ten years later, in 1935, the college started the Honors Course in Malayalam and the Post-graduate Course in Sanskrit the following year.

With the founding of the University of Travancore in 1937, the two colleges were amalgamated into H.H. the Maharaja’s University College, Trivandrum, and the Arts College at Thycaud functioned as a part of the University College.

Independence, in 1947 the Arts College was converted into the University Previous School. In 1949 with the introduction of the Intermediate Course, the institution came to be called the University Intermediate College.

In 1956, the Intermediate Course was stopped and the institution once again became a college coaching students for the University Previous Examination.

The college had received many awards and accolades at a city, state and national level for their educational advancements also received the numbers of achievements awards in the field of sports and curricular activities under the University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram.

The college offers three years undergraduate and two years of postgraduate courses in Arts, Commerce, and Science streams with various specializations under the University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. It also offers the Ph.D. course.

University examinations of different courses, examinations conducted by the University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, and various other examinations are held in the college premises.

Vision:

• Envisage a holistic development of the individuals by bringing out the best in them
• Enabling them to imbibe the high values of social commitment and tolerance along with in-depth knowledge and research aptitude

Mission:

• To become a premier academic institution actively involved in generation and dissemination of knowledge by imparting state of the art education to learners from different strata of society
• Committed to helping students evolve into self-confident and responsible citizens by inculcating in them the values of integrity, righteousness and good civic sense