St. Joseph's University (SJU) is a Jesuit university in central Bengaluru whose institutional history reaches back to the nineteenth century. Its roots began with a seminary established in 1854, while the collegiate institution took shape in 1882 and became affiliated to the University of Madras. Management was transferred to the Society of Jesus in 1937, beginning the Jesuit stewardship that continues to shape the institution's educational identity. The college later moved through affiliation with Mysore University and Bangalore University as Karnataka's higher-education system developed. St. Joseph's became the first affiliated college in Karnataka to offer postgraduate programs in 1986 and the first in the state to receive a research center in 1988. Academic autonomy followed in 2005, giving the institution greater control over curriculum and assessment before its transition to university status. Under the RUSA 2.0 initiative, the autonomous college was selected for upgradation and the Karnataka legislature passed the St. Joseph's University Act in 2021. The institution formally became a university on 2 July 2022 and was inaugurated in September 2022 under a public-private partnership model. Today SJU offers arts, sciences, commerce, management, communication, social sciences and other programs while retaining a liberal, research-oriented Jesuit tradition. Its Lalbagh Road campus places students within Bengaluru's academic, cultural, civic and technology environment. The university emphasizes academic rigor, social responsibility, research, inclusivity and service, reflecting the wider Jesuit educational tradition. SJU continues to combine historic institutional identity with contemporary interdisciplinary and research-oriented higher education. St. Joseph's University operates within Karnataka's higher-education system and serves learners from the Bengaluru region as well as students arriving from other parts of India. The Bengaluru setting also shapes the professional, cultural and community networks available around the university. The institution's development reflects a continuing effort to combine degree education with research, practical learning and student development.