Loyola College, a Catholic Minority Institution, was founded by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1925, with the primary objective of providing University Education in a Christian atmosphere for deserving students irrespective of caste and creed. It started functioning in July 1925 with just 75 students on the rolls in three undergraduate courses of Mathematics, History and Economics.Loyola College, though affiliated to University of Madras, became autonomous in July 1978. It is autonomous, in the sense that it is empowered to frame its own course of studies and adopt innovative methods of teaching and evaluation. The University degrees will be conferred on the students passing the examinations conducted by the college.UGC conferred the status of "College with potential for Excellence" on Loyola College in 2004 and confirmed the same in 2010. NAAC's re-accreditation score in 2012 (Third Cycle) is 3.70 out of 4.00 CGPA. UGC has elevated Loyola College to the status of "College of Excellence" for the period from April 1, 2014 till March 31, 2019. Today, there are 19 P.G courses and 19 U.G courses (Arts, Sciences and Commerce) and 12 special Institutes offering various programs to 12,107 students. 11 departments are offering M.Phil. programs and 12 departments offer Ph.D. programs. At present, 117 teaching staff members out of 286 hold doctoral degree. There are 182 non-teaching staff in service.