About the College

The First Women’s College of Thrissur District, St. Mary’s College, was established in the heart of the flourishing business town of Thrissur in 1946. The Congregation of Mother of Carmel (CMC) had pioneered into the field of Higher Education inspired by the educational vision of its founder, St. Kuriakose Elias Chavra. India was fast approaching the much awaited freedom from British rule and there was great enthusiasm for a new and reformed society. Though many women had taken part in the freedom struggle, majority of women in India were still uneducated and illiterate. Women had very little opportunity for higher education as there were very few colleges for women at the time. It is in this hour of need that the CMC congregation had established St. Mary’s College, with the aim of uplifting the women of Kerala by empowering them through education.

The CMC congregation had applied for sanction to start a college to the University of Madras in 1944. In 1945 His Excellency Rt. Rev. Dr. George Alappat, Bishop of Thrissur laid the foundation stone for the college building. The University Inspectors Committee headed by Sri. Lakashmanaswamy Mudaliar, the Vice Chancellor of University of Madras, visited the college site and gave sanction to start the college with Degree Courses in Mathematics and Economics and Intermediate for Science and History. His Excellency Rt. Rev. Dr. George Alappat, Bishop of Thrissur blessed the college building. Thus the long cherished dream of a College for women bore fruit and history was made with the birth of the First Women’s of Thrissur district, St. Mary’s College. The distinctive coat of arms and the motto Scientia et Disciplina was adopted. The College was formally inaugurated by Sri. George Boag, the Diwan of Cochin on February 9th, 1947. Sr. Mary Patience took charge as the Founder Principal of the College. Her missionary zeal helped the college to attain pride of place among the women’s colleges in Kerala. The College was able to fulfil its cherished dream of imparting education to the young women of Kerala and scores of successful graduates passed out of the college portal every year. From its inception the College has given importance to academic excellence and the university results of the first batch of students bears testimony to this. A.G Teresa came out first in the Madras Presidency and was awarded the Pitti Muniswami Chetti Guru Gold Medal and the Marsh Prize. L. S. Sarojini won the Godathi Etharajan Memorial Medal of the University for Economics and Radha Devi won the T. Rama Rao Gold Medal of the University for English.

On August 15th, 1947 India’s Independence was celebrated with the unfurling of the Indian tricolour. The first College Day celebration was held in 1950 and was presided over by Sri. V. K. Nandana Menon, the Vice Chancellor of Travancore University. The first College Magazine, The Marian Voice, was published in 1950. The College in its infancy itself encouraged social committment in the students. The Social Service League, an organisation for serving the underprivileged in the society was inaugurated by the great and illustrious freedom fighter Smt. Kuttimalu Amma in 1951. The year will also be remembered for the visit of the Mahakavi and first Jananapeetam Award winner, G. Sankara Kuruppu to the college. The O.S.A (Old Students Association) was initiated in 1951 to perpetuate the strong bond between the Alma Mater and the students even after passing out of the portals of the college. In the same year the College bid adieu to its founder Principal, Sr.Mary Patience.
Vision
Our Vision is the holistic development of young women through academic excellence, intellectual, moral and spiritual growth to equip them for service to society and mould them as responsible citizens.

Mission
We envisage to realize our vision by:
Imparting affordable, inclusive and quality education
Nurturing research aptitude and inquisitiveness
Enhancing intellectual, emotional and spiritual quotient
Instilling social commitment and ensuring sustainable development
Promoting gender equity and women empowerment
Fostering and updating skills for employability

Motto
SCIENTIA ET DISCIPLINA (KNOWLEDGE AND DISCIPLINE) The motto stands for the twin aspects of intellectual growth and personality development through a holistic approach.

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