Bishop Heber College is a religious minority educational institution established by the Tiruchirappalli - Thanjavur Diocese of the Church of South India. Its main objective is to cater for the higher educational needs of the members of the Church of South India and other Christians and specially to provide for them an educational atmosphere in keeping with the Christian ideals of the Church. The College, however, admits students of all faiths and religions and seeks to provide for them the best possible higher education



Bishop Heber College traces its origin back to Christian Frederick Schwartz, the first German missionary, supported by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (S.P.C.K) in South India. He built a school near the Rock Fort in Tiruchirappalli in 1762. The School was vested in the S.P.C.K, and subsequently handed over to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel(S.P.G) in 1825. Reginald Heber, the Lord Bishop of Calcutta, came to Tiruchirappalli in 1826 on his way to Sri Lanka. He visited the school on the morning of the 3rd of April and expressed the wish that better buildings might be provided. He also spoke to the Tamil Congregation and later in the morning died of apoplexy in the cold water bath in the District Court Compound here. He was buried in St. John's Church, Trichy. The School was renamed Heber Memorial School.



The Heber Memorial School became a full-fledged high school in 1864 and sent its pupils for the Matriculation Examination. In 1873 the School was raised to a Second Grade College and in 1882 it became a First Grade College. It was then known as S.P.G College. It was the first college to be established in Tiruchirappalli. Honours courses in History and Mathematics were introduced in 1925. The College came to be known as Bishop Heber College in the late 1920's and its Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in 1926 under the Presidentship of the then Governor of Madras, Lord Goschen.


The Lindsay Commission on Christian Higher Education in India recommended the merger of the Bishop Heber College with the Madras Christian College. Accordingly, Bishop Heber College was closed in 1934 and the Bishop Heber Hall emerged at Madras Christian College, Tambaram.

The people of Tiruchirappalli, however, were not happy about the closure of the College. Right from the year 1946, efforts were made to revive Bishop Heber College but in vain. The Most Rev. Dr. Solomon Doraisawmy, who was consecrated Bishop of Tiruchirappalli - Thanjavur Diocese in 1964, plunged heart and soul into the effort to revive the College. He succeeded in reviving the College on 24th June 1966.

The College functioned at Teppakulam in the old College Buildings from 1966 to 1968, having only Pre-University classes. In July 1968 the College was upgraded to the Degree Standard with three Degree Courses Viz. History, Economics and Mathematics and the Degree Classes were conducted at Puthur, where the College had acquired a site for its permanent buildings.


For four years from 1968 to 1972, the College functioned in two places, the Pre-University Classes at Teppakulam and the Degree Classes at Puthur. The College grew not only in strength but also in popularity and academic excellence and attracted students from all over Tamil Nadu. In the meantime, the College managed to secure financial aid from the Protestant Central Agency for Co-operation in Development, Bonn, Germany, for the construction of its permanent buildings.The building scheme was taken in hand early in 1970 and four new buildings were opened in 1972. Many more buildings have since been added and the College now has a beautiful campus with lovely gardens.

The revived College celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1992, the 40th Anniversary in 2006, and the Golden Jubilee in 2016.

Academic Programmes

The College now offers 10 Under-Graduate, 07 Post-Graduate in the Aided stream of study besides research programmes leading to M. Phil and Ph. D programms. The College started offers 29 Under-Graduate, 18 Post-Graduate and 01 Integrated PG programmes in the Self-Financing stream from the year 1985 onwards.

The College has already established a great reputation for its high academic standards and attracts students from all over India and abroad.

The College runs the accredited Study Centre of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.

International Collaborations

The college with the spirit of a goodwill ambassador, has cut across boundaries to propagate its educational mission. In keeping with the present educational trend, the college has signed a number of MoU's with various universities, colleges, institutions and other agencies of international repute. This fruitful endeavor helps in arguing an interface between institutions in order to promote exchange of knowledge. Liverpool Hope University, UK, Kingston University, UK, University of Burgundy, France, Kasetsart University, Thailand, Appalachian State University, USA, Groupe ESC, Rouen, France, Churches Council for Child and Youth Care, Bangalore, e-LIPI of STPI, Government of India, IBM, Bangalore, are among the institutions in academic understanding.

The University Grants Commission, New Delhi and Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli granted Autonomy to our College during 2004-2005.






National Recognition

The College was accredited with 5 stars by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) on 21st May 2001 and was reaccredited at the A+ Level on 31st March 2007. Also our College was recognized by the UGC as "College with Potential for Excellence" on September 2011. In the 3rd cycle of reaccreditation, the NAAC awarded the college with ‘A’ grade (CGPA: 3.58/4.0) and the college, as a whole, was granted with the prestigious FIST grant (of Rs. 1 crore) by the Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi. Further, in the same year, it was identified by the Department of Biotechnology for the ‘Star College Scheme’ for a special grant of Rs. 55 lakhs.

Surpassing all these, in the same year, the college was recognized as the “College of Excellence”, with a special grant of Rs. 2 crore.

It is very wonderful and remarkable that the college was celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2016 while receiving all these prestigious awards.

As the slogan of Golden Jubilee goes ‘Excel and Empower’, the college continues to excel in different dimensions and empower the young men and women, especially those from the weaker sections of the society.

S.No. Name of the building Opened On
01 Old Building(1) 16-10-68
02 Old Building(2) 14-7-70
03 Principal Sargurudoss Administrative Building 27-01-73
04 Bishop R.B. Manickam Block 27-01-73
05 Muthamizh kavalar Dr.K.A.P. Viswanatham Block 27-01-73
06 Schwartz Hostel 27-01-73
07 Chapel 09-01-76
08 Dining hall & Kitchen Block 21-01-78
09 Gardiner Hostel 08-01-80
10 Library And Auditorium 25-01-82
11 New Class Room Block 19-10-85
12 Bank Extension Counter Building 03-03-88
13 Chinnakkadai Street Shopping Complex 30-04-88
14 Christian Endeavour(C.E.) Hostel for Boys 12-08-88
15 Student Services Centre 08-03-90
16 Vasantham Gardens 08-03-90
17 Post-Graduate Block 03-10-90
18 Open-Air Stage 12-02-92
19 Power House 03-03-92
20 Bishop Solomon Doraiswamy Hostel 03-01-96
21 Administrative Block - I Floor 15-12-2000
22 Bishop Solomon Doraiswamy Computer Science Block 15-12-2000
23 New Toilet Block 13-03-2002
24 New Power House And Generator 13-03-2002
25 Dodson Hostel 18-12-2002
26 Dining Hall Block in Bishop Solomon Doaraiswamy Hostel 23-02-2004
27 Ladies Toilet Block 23-02-2004
28 Cafeteria Extension 23-02-2004
29 Multipurpose Building 24-07-2004
30 Administrative Block II Floor 24-11-2004
31 First Floor Over the Bishop Solomon Doraiswamy Hostel Dining Hall- C.E. Hostel for Girls 08-09-2005
32 Chapel - Rededication 16-10-2005
33 Student Services Center - Extension 17-10-2005
34 Ladies Toilet behind Computer Science Block 17-10-2005
35 Bishop Solomon Doraiswamy Hostel -II Floor 21-02-2006
36 SSC- II Floor 31-01-2007
37 Second Floor over Bishop Solomon Doraiswamy Hostel Dining Hall CE Hostel for Girls 10-04-2007
38 Principal Sargurudoss Administrative Building I & II Floor 13-08-2007
39 Library Block - III Floor 13-08-2007
40 International Hostel for Men 13-08-2007
41 International Dining Hall 13-08-2007
42 Multipurpose Building -III Floor 03-12-2007
43 Mess Staff Quarters 04-09-2008
44 Bishop Thorp Hostel for Women 17-11-2008
45 Gallery for Basket Ball Court 20-02-2010
46 380 KVA Generator 07-05-11
47 Block Renovation work for Bishop R.B. Manickam & Muthamizh Kavalar Dr.K.A.P. Viswanatham Block 08-09-2011
48 G.H.Launder Hostel for Women(UGC Funded) 07-01-2013
49 Administrative Block III Floor 17-06-2014
50 Rev.G.H.Launder Open Air Stadium 29-09-2014
51 Golden Jubilee Building 21-04-2017
52 500 KVA Generator(UGC Funded) 21-11-2017
53 Instrumentation Lab - Golden Jubilee 21-11-2017
54 Golden Jubilee Building 4th Floor 05-04-2018
55 Fitness Centre in golden Jubileee Building 19-06-2018
56 500 KVA Generator 19-12-2018
57 All Saint's Girl Hostel 01-07-2018
58 Bishop Thorp Hostel Dining Hall 01-07-2018
59 Computer Lab(Old Auditorium) 07-01-2019
60 Rev.C.H.Firbank A/C Indoor Stadium (UGC Funded) 12-04-2019
61 Multipurpose Building 4th Floor Auditorium, Gallery & 1st Floor E-Studio 31-01-2020
62 Bishop R.B.Manikam Block & Muthamizh Kavalar & Dr.K.A.P Viswanatham Block III Floor 29-09-2021
1966
Aided Section

Pre-University Course

1968
Aided Section

B.A. History
B.A.Economics
B.Sc Mathematics

1972
Aided Section

B.Sc. Physics
B.Sc. Chemistry
B.Sc Zoology

1978
Aided Section

M.Sc. Mathematics

1979
Aided Section

M.A. English

1980
Aided Section

B.Sc. Botany

1981
Aided Section

M.A.Tamil

1982
Aided Section

M.Sc. Mathematics converted into M.Sc.Applied Mathematics(Operations Research)
M.A Social Work
M.Phil. Mathematics(PT)

1983
Aided Section

B.Sc. Library & Info Science

1984
Aided Section

B.Sc. Computer Science
B.A. Corporate Secretaryship converted into B.Com.
M.Sc. Environmental Sciences
M.Phil. Tamil(Part-time)
P.G. Dip in Computer Science & Applications

1985
Aided Section

M.Phil. Tamil(Full-time)

Self-Financed Section

B.Com.   
B.Sc.Computer Science   

1987
Aided Section

Ph.D. Tamil(Part-time)
Ph.D. Mathematics(Full-time)

Self-Financed Section

B.Sc. Mathematics
B.Sc.Chemistry
P.G. Dip in Computer Science & Applications



1988
Aided Section

M.Sc.Chemistry
M.Phil.English(Full-time)
M.Phil. English(Part-time)

Self-Financed Section

M.B.A.(Part-time) -3 Years

1990
Self-Financed Section

B.Sc. Physics




1991
Self-Financed Section

M.C.A.
P.G.Diploma in Acturial Science




1992
Aided Section

M.L.I.Sc.
Ph.D.Chemistry(Full-time)
Ph.D.Environmental Sciences(Full-time)

Self-Financed Section

M.Sc. Physics




1998
Aided Section

Ph.D. Social Work(FT & PT)

Self-Financed Section

M. Phil. Social Work (FT)




1999
Self-Financed Section

B.C.A.




2000
Aided Section

Ph.D. English(Full-time)

Self-Financed Section

M.Sc. English(Full Time)
M.Sc. Information Technology




2001
Aided Section

M.Sc.Applied Mathematics changed as M.Sc.Applicable Mathematics and Computer Science




2002
Self-Financed Section

M.Sc. Actuarial Science
M.Sc. Biotechnology




2003
Self-Financed Section

M.B.A.(2 Years)




2004
Aided Section

M.Sc. Applicable Mathematics & Computer Science Changed as M.Sc. Mathematics

Self-Financed Section

Evening College renamed as Self- Financing Section by the University
M.Phil. Mathematics(FT)
M.Phil. Library Science(FT)




2006
Aided Section

Ph.D. Library Science(PT)

Self-Financed Section

B.B.A.
M.Sc. Mathematics
M.Sc. Chemistry




2007
Self-Financed Section

M.Sc. Molecular BioSciences




2009
Aided Section

Ph.D. Physics(PT & FT)

Self-Financed Section

M.Phil.English(PT)
M.Com.
M.Sc. Bioinformatics
M.Phil. Physics(FT & PT)




2010
Aided Section

Ph.D. Library Science(FT)

Self-Financed Section

B.A. English
M.Phil. Library Science(PT)
M.S.W.




2011
Aided Section

Ph.D. Botany(PT)

Self-Financed Section

Ph.D. Commerce(FT & PT)
Ph.D.Computer Science(FT & PT)
Ph.D. History(FT & PT)




2012
Aided Section

Ph.D. Physical Education(FT & PT)

Self-Financed Section

M.Phil. Computer Science(FT & PT)
M.Phil. Management Studies(FT & PT)
M.Sc. Zoology
B.Sc. Autuarial Mathematical Science




2013
Self-Financed Section

M.Sc. Botany(2 years Prog. converted to)
M.Sc. Bioinformatics(5 years integrated Programme)




2014
Self-Financed Section

M.A.History




2015
Self-Financed Section

B.Voc. Accounting and Taxation(UGC Sponsored)
B.Voc. Information Technology(UGC Sponsored)




2016
Self-Financed Section

B.Sc.Bio-Technology




2017
Self-Financed Section

B.Sc. Food Science and Nutrition
B.Sc.Environmental Sciences

2018
Self-Financed Section

B.A.Tamil
B.Com. Professional Accounting
B.Com. International Accounting
M.A. Economics
M.Sc. Data Science

2019
Self-Financed Section

M.Sc. Data Science

2020
Self-Financed Section

MCA(3 Years Programme)
B.Com. Strategic Finance
B.B.A. Aviation & Ground Handling
B.Voc. Visual Communication
M.Sc. Food Science & Nutrition

2021
Self-Financed Section

B.Com. Business Analytics
B.Com. Business Process Management
B.S.W
B.Sc. Aviation