Established by the Fathers of the French Foreign Mission in 1882, St. Joseph's College in Bengaluru is an autonomous college managed by the Foreign Mission Society of Paris.

It was established with the objective of providing higher education to meritorious students and contribute to the building of the nation with enlightened students.
 
The college is affiliated to the Bangalore University, Bengaluru and it was recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) under section 2(f) on 23rd December 1982 & 12(B) on 28th May 1985 under the UGC Act, 1956. It was re-accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with "A++" Grade (CGPA score 3.79 on a 4 point scale in the 4th cycle) on 30th October 2017.
 
The college aims at keeping pace with the changing situations of the times by renewing, expanding and searching. Located in the urban part of Bangalore, it is a self-financed and co-educational institute that provides regular courses.
 
Formerly, St. Joseph’s College of Commerce was a part of St. Joseph’s College. It was set up by the French Foreign Mission Fathers for providing higher education. In 1937, the Jesuits were handed over the management of the college. The Jesuits were a worldwide Catholic religious order which focused on education.

They also run other premier institutions in India: the St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, the St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and the Loyola College, Chennai. In 1949, the Department of Commerce came up in the parent college.

In 1972, the Department of Commerce started to exist as an independent college as St. Joseph’s College of Commerce. In 1972 St. Joseph’s College was divided into 2 colleges: St Joseph's College Of Commerce and St Joseph's College of Arts & Science.

In 1972, the 2 colleges, St Joseph's College of Business Administration (SJCBA) and St Joseph's College of Commerce (SJCC) were shifted to 163, Brigade Road. In the same year, the St Joseph's Evening College started to exist as an independent college.

The structure of the fees and the provisions to be provided to the students are decided by the government as it is a grant-in-aid college.

The University Grants Commission, New Delhi, in 2004, declared the college as a "College of Potential Excellence (CPE)". The college was granted the status of DST-FIST College, together with 47 other colleges in India.

After the proposal of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, in 2005, the Karnataka Government declared St. Joseph’s College as an autonomous college after inspecting its academic level.

Under the Bangalore University, St. Joseph's College has received many recognitions in the fields of academics, sports, and co-curricular activities at the state, national and city level.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework has ranked St. Joseph's College as the best college in India. By gathering information and learning from various universities all across India, the college is gearing itself for a university status.

St. Joseph's College offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses for three years and two years, respectively. It offers these courses in the commerce, arts and science streams. The college offers various specializations, Ph.D. courses, and add-on certificate courses also.

Various exchange programmes are conducted at the university in collaboration with the universities of foreign countries. Certificate courses in Asian and European languages are also provided in the International Languages School that is there in the college.

Students seeking admission to St. Joseph's College have to fill in an online application form listing their merits and achievements. For one to get admission in this college, one has to register with the university. They have to check whether their four/PCB/PCM, the one that is applicable falls within the cut-off as wanted by the college for getting admitted to various courses.

Several examinations are conducted at St. Joseph's College. These are the university exams of different courses and also exams conducted by the University of Delhi, New Delhi.

Vision:

• St. Joseph's College has a vision of striving to maintain quality and being committed to excellence

Mission:

• St. Joseph's College is on a mission to develop the potential of both its staff and students in the fields of innovation, critical thinking and creativity and to strengthen the vision of the college by encouraging extra-curricular talent of both the staff and the students