With a view to giving shape to Swami Vivekananda’s comprehensive scheme of education, the authorities of the Ramakrishna Mission started the Vidyamandira as an Intermediate Arts College in 1941 under the auspices of Saradapitha, a branch of the Ramakrishna Mission. Though originally an Intermediate Arts College, it received affiliation in 1945 in some commerce subjects and in 1946 in some science
subjects. The college was upgraded to a three-year degree college with effect from July 1960. In this college, the students come into close contact with their teachers and an attempt is made to impart all-round training in an atmosphere of serenity, discipline, and moral purity that helps them develop into worthy citizens of the country with a sense of genuine pride in their hoary cultural traditions. With a glorious tradition and brilliant record of success behind it, the Vidyamandira was upgraded into a three-year degree college with an effect from July 1960. In 1994, new courses were started under the UGC scheme of rationalization of degree education. We are proud to state that it was accredited by the NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council), India and awarded a grade of A+ with an institutional score of 93.25% in February 2005. As per the notification of the State Government, the H.S. Section was discontinued for the academic session 2006-2007. In the same session, post-graduate teaching was introduced in two subjects, viz., Mathematics and Sanskrit. In the session 2008–2009, a postgraduate course in Bengali was introduced. The College has been recognized as a College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) in 2010. Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur Math, has been conferred upon the Autonomous Status by the UGC, New Delhi, from the session 2010-2011 up to the 2015-2016 session [vide letter no F.22-1/2010(AC), Dated: 23 June 2010]. From the session 2010-2011, Industrial Chemistry Honours were started instead of the erstwhile Industrial Chemistry Major. In the session 2011–2012, a postgraduate course in Applied Chemistry was introduced. In the session 2013–2014, a postgraduate course in Philosophy was introduced. In the session 2013–2014, a Certificate course on Photography was introduced. The Swami Vivekananda Research Center has become operational since the 2013–2014 session. In October 2013, the college was re-accredited by NAAC in the 2nd cycle with a grade of A (highest grade). In March 2014, the college was awarded the Status College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) for the second time by the UGC. During the 2015-16 session, the college was awarded DST-FIST by the Central Government. The status of autonomy was renewed in 2016 by the UGC and extended for another six years. In the session 2017–2018, an undergraduate course in Zoology was introduced. Vidyamandira received 'star college' status from the Department of Biotechnology, the Government of India, in 2019. Vidyamandira ranked 9th (respectively 11th and 7th) by NIRF at the national level in the college category in the year 2018 (respectively 2019 and 2020). Vidyamandira ranked 5th by NIRF at the national level in the college category in 2021. In October 2021, the college was re-accredited by NAAC in the 3rd cycle with a grade of A++ (the highest grade with a CGPA of 3.58). In the session 2021–2022, a postgraduate course in Computer Science and Machine Intelligence was introduced. In 2022, the status of ‘Autonomy’ was renewed and extended for 10 years by the UGC for an A++ Grade in NAAC and the NIRF Rankings (one of the top 50 Colleges in India). The college was ranked 9th in the college category in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) India Ranking 2022, by the Ministry of Human Resource Department, Government of India.
