St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Bengaluru Urban was established in 1882 by Founded by Fathers of the French Foreign Mission, affiliated to the University of Madras, Chennai as a Second Grade College. Later the college was handed over to the Society of Jesus in 1937 through the Diocese of Mysore.

It is one of the premier autonomous colleges established to impart & provide in the field of higher education for the deserving candidates and prove to be a milestone in the part of progress.
 
The college is at present affiliated with Bangalore University, Bengaluru and it is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) under section 2(f) on 23rd December 1982 & 12(B) on 28th May 1985 under Act, 1956.

It is approved by Society of Jesus, Catholic Church and re-accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with "A" Grade (CGPA Score 3.73 on a 4 Point Scale in 3rd Cycle) on 10th March 2012.

On 1st 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 Bengaluru Colleges that were awarded academic autonomy in the October 2005. In 2014, the college was cited for its model library facility. The college was also bifurcated into PUC and Degree College on 17th July 2001.

The college conferred the status of grant-in-aid college that the fees and all the facilities for the students are fixed by the government. The student's admission is done as per the Admission Criteria prescribed by the affiliating university.

The college was also recognized & conferred the status as “College with Potential for Excellence (CPE)" by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi on 3rd November 2004.

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 the staff to respond to the needs of more than 5000 students. The institution has four main buildings, located in the center of the Cantonment.

• St. Joseph's College of Commerce
• St. Joseph’s Institute of Management (previously St. Joseph's College of Business Administration)
• St. Joseph's Evening College and Pre-University College located in the vicinity of St. Patrick's Church and Good Shepherd Convent.
• St. Joseph's College, Bangalore (previously St. Joseph's College of Arts and Sciences) which is located on Langford Road near Richmond Circle, Bengaluru.

At present, the college offers 18 undergraduate courses, 11 postgraduate courses, three professional courses, and two vocational courses in Arts, Science, Commerce, & Management streams with various optional specializations which are diversified over several relevant and pertinent fields of knowledge.

In the past four years, responding to local and national needs, college has introduced several new courses including two B.A. programs: English, Journalism, and Psychology (EJP), Communicative English, Political Science, and Economics (CPE); a B. Com. (regular), and a B. Com-BPS (industry-integrated). Two vocational (B.Voc.) courses: Visual Media & Filmmaking and Digital Media & Animation have also been introduced at the undergraduate level.

At the postgraduate level, two courses have been introduced - M. Sc. Mathematics, and M. Sc. Big Data Analytics, the latter in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) has been introduced from this academic year.

Motto:

Fide et Labore, from the Latin for "Faith and Toil"

Vision:

• To prepare men and women for the service of their fellow-citizens, especially the poor and the oppressed

Mission:

• The college seeks to create men and women who will be agents of change, committed to the creation of a society that is just, secular and democratic
• The education offer is, therefore, oriented towards enabling our students to strive for both academic and human excellence
• The college pursues academic excellence by providing a learning environment that constantly challenges the students and supports the ethic of intellectual curiosity and ceaseless inquiry