It was carved out of Bangalore University to accommodate the needs of the students from Tumkuru district.

In the year 2000–2001, new subjects like Computer Science, Microbiology, Electronics and Biochemistry were introduced.

In 2008, post graduate courses were introduced in Physics, Chemistry and Environment Science.

Situated in a sprawling 25-acre plot, the college houses 25 spacious lecture halls, a library with more than 50,000 titles and 55,000 volumes of books on different disciplines, along with journals, magazines, newspapers and a reading and reference section.

The college also has indoor and outdoor stadia administered by the Youth Services and Sports Department of the Government of Karnataka.

Its purpose is to provide a forum to share knowledge related to broad range of topics including political science, sociology, history, archaeology, social work, geography, international studies, women's studies, children's learning and health, economics, business ethics, cities, intellectual property rights, language acquisition, privacy, the aging population, quality of life, technology in aboriginal communities, information communication technology, library and information science, physical education and sports sciences, dispute resolution, environment, sustainable development and subjects related to commerce and management.

Eminent personalities appointed Honorary Distinguished Professors of the university include: