The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya.

The main campus features an amphitheater, an auditorium, a swimming pool, and hostel accommodations for men and women.

Continuing with the university's initiative to introduce five-year integrated courses to produce professionals with in-depth knowledge, the MUSJ has introduced a program leading to a degree in law,[11] as a bid to enhance the quality of legal education in Karnataka.

[12] The university's motto, "Na Hi Jñanena Sadrusham" (Nothing compares with knowledge) is taken from the Bhagavad Gita.

[16] The university launched several new online degree programs during the COVID pandemic,[36] in an attempt to ensure students completing their school leaving exams in 2020-21 did not lose an academic year due to colleges and universities being in lockdown.