St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur, is a government-aided Catholic college located in Thrissur, Kerala, India. Established as a college in 1918, the college is considered to be one of the oldest and premier institutions of higher education in Princely State of Cochin. It is the first Catholic college in Kerala and is conducted by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur. The college is affiliated with the University of Calicut.
The college attained Autonomous status in 2014 and was recognised as College with Potential for Excellence by University Grants Commission in 2016. The college was accredited with A++ grade in its fourth cycle of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation, scoring CGPA of 3.70 on a four-point scale in October 2022. It is ranked 57th among colleges in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2024.
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History
Started as a lower secondary school in 1889, the founder, the first Vicar Apostolic of Thrissur, Adolph Medlycott, named it St. Thomas’ College. The college started to function in the compound of present-day Bishop's House compound. In 1918, it was raised to a second-grade college in arts, affiliated to the University of Madras.
The buildings of the college were constructed in a phased manner. Medlycott said that at the time of his return in 1896:
The bishop on taking charge found that there were practically no schools, ... he took early steps to open as many elementary parish schools as possible; within nine years (1888-96) the vicariate was provided with no less than 231 elementary parish schools for both sexes, educating over 12,000 children, besides a high school (St. Thomas's College), with 95 students;.... plans were prepared to house the above college in a handsome structure.
Notable alumni
Alphons Joseph, Malayalam Film Music Director
Ashok Menon, Former Judge, Kerala High Court
Anil Akkara, Former Member Of Kerala Legislative Assembly
Ancy Sojan, Indian Athlete
Atlas Ramachandran, Former Banker, Entrepreneur
Biju Menon, Actor
Thalappil Pradeep, Indian Scientist
C. Achutha Menon - Indian Communist Leader and Chief Minister of Kerala state
C. Janardhanan, Communist Leader, Former Member of Parliament
Chinmayananda Saraswati - Chinmaya Mission
C. Raveendranath, Former Minister for General education Government of kerala
Devan- Malayalam Film Actor
E. Santhosh Kumar, Winner of The Kerala Sahithya Academy Award for the best novel in 2012.
Eknath Easwaran - Internationally respected spiritual teacher
Eluvathingal Devassy Jemmis - Padma Shri awardee, Professor at Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research
EMS Namboodiripad - Indian Communist Leader and first Chief Minister of Kerala state
George Alapatt - Fourth Bishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur
Notable faculty
Joseph Mundassery
A. Sreedhara Menon
George Menachery
C. Raveendranath
K. A. Jayaseelan
Syam Sudhakar