CHRIST (Deemed to be University) was born out of the educational vision of St Kuriakose Elias Chavara, an educationalist and social reformer of the nineteenth century in South India. He founded the first Catholic indigenous congregation, Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), in 1831, which administers CHRIST (Deemed to be University). The institution began as Christ College in 1969 and grew gradually in numbers and infrastructure. It gained a reputation for its outstanding academic achievements. In 2004, The University Grants Commission (UGC) of India conferred Autonomy to the college and was identified as an Institution with Potential for Excellence in 2006. It was declared an institution deemed to be a university by the Ministry of Education on 22 July 2008.