2 July 2021 is a red letter day in the history of St Agnes College as it was founded by the great visionary Mother Mary Aloysia A.C., the Second Superior General of the Apostolic Carmel on this date 100 years ago in a small dry land called hullu mulli, in Mangalore with just 24 students, in an era when educating girls was unheard of and the society wondered about whether it was advisable for girls to venture out of the ‘secure precincts’ of their homes.

Today, the college has progressed by leaps and bounds to be one of the premier institutions of higher education in the country. While education of the girl child and women empowerment are recognized as a national priority at present, St Agnes College has been serving this noble cause for the past 100 years, and its alumni scattered all over the world, are witness to this fact. This institution has trained young women to be leaders, pioneers and people for others, working shoulder to shoulder with men to shape a newfound nation.

The year 2021 is very significant to St Agnes College as it has completed the 100 remarkable years of empowering women by providing value based, socially relevant and globally competitive education. In the last hundred years, St Agnes College has witnessed several milestones. The college took the initiative of submitting itself to the accreditation process conducted by the NAAC (National Assessment & Accreditation Council) in 1999 and had the honour of receiving a ‘Five Star’ grade. In the successive re-accreditation process by the NAAC in 2005 and 2012, the College earned an ‘A’ grade. The year 2017 turned into a milestone for the college as the it secured an A+ Grade from the NAAC with a CGPA of 3.65/4, and also has been conferred the title of ‘College of Excellence’ by the UGC, New Delhi. St. Agnes College is the first college under Mangalore University to receive this recognition. The college was granted the “Star Status” by the Department of Bio Technology (DBT) of the Ministry of Science & Technology (MST), Government of India in 2017, for promoting basic sciences among students of the region.

Apart from national recognition, the college has also been the recipient of the ‘Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Foundation’ Partnership International Award for its path-breaking work in the field of watershed management in 2006. This is the only one of its kind recognition in India.

In 2007, St Agnes College was conferred the status of Autonomy by the UGC making it possible to start Post Graduate Programmes, St Agnes Research Centre for both men and women.

Reposing faith in the motto of the college “Deus Fortitudo Mea”- God is my Strength, the institution has not kept any stone unturned to empower women and excel them in their career as educators, scientists, chartered accountants, management professionals and efficient homemakers. These many years of glory of St Agnes College would not have been achievable if not for the strong foundation laid by Mother Mary Aloysia against all odds.