About

Thiruvananthapuram's Government Arts College has a long and illustrious history. Originally part of H. H. The Maharaja's College in Thiruvananthapuram, it was separated from the parent institution in 1924 (see GO. R.O.C. No. 395 of 23 Legis, E dated 9th May, 1924 issued by the Government of H. H. The Maharaja of Travancore) to house the Arts Departments and renamed H. H. The Maharaja's College of Arts. H. H. The Maharaja's College of Science was the name of the parent college.

The Departments of History, Economics, Sanskrit and Dravidian Languages, and English were transferred to the new college when it opened on July 4, 1924, from the parent institution. At the time, honours courses in English, History, and Economics were also offered. In 1925, the Department of Philosophy was established. The college began the Honors Course in Malayalam ten years later, in 1935, and the Post-graduate Course in Sanskrit the following year.

When the University of Travancore was established in 1937, the two colleges were merged into H.H. the Maharaja's University College, Trivandrum, and the Arts College at Thycaud became a part of the University College. Following the country's independence in 1947, an attempt was made to test a new system of university education, and as part of this experiment, the Arts College was converted into the University Previous School. With the introduction of the Intermediate Course in 1949, the institution was renamed the University Intermediate College. The Intermediate Course was discontinued in 1956, and the institution reverted to being a college that prepared students for the University Previous Examination.