Some time in the early twenties of the 20th century, the Most Reverend Dr.J Aelen, Archbishop of Mylapore, invited the Society of Jesus to establish a Roman Catholic college for young men in the Provincial Capital of Madras (now Chennai).

The invitation caused little surprise as the Society was already running a college of high repute in another town of the then Madras Presidency, St.Joseph's College in Tiruchirappalli.

In response to the invitation, a band of dedicated Jesuits led by Rev. Fr. Francis Bertram came over to Chennai from Tiruchirappalli. They acquired a large tract of land at the end of Sterling road in the exclusive area of Nungumbakkam. The foundation stone was laid on March 10, 1924, and Loyola College, established and owned by the Loyola College Society, started to function in July the following year (1925) with 75 students going through undergraduate courses of Mathematics, History and Economics. 

Today, in its 75th year, the college offers an incredible range of courses of study and is ranked among the ten top colleges in the country.

Its aims are to provide a university education in a Christian atmosphere to deserving students, irrespective of caste and creed; to train young men and women to be leaders in all walks of life and to serve their fellow men in justice, truth and love; to foster an atmosphere of intellectual vigour and moral rectitude in which young men and women may find fulfillment and achieve greatness as eminent men and women of service. 

Loyola became autonomous in 1978. However, it continues to be affiliated to the University of Madras. It is free to frame its own courses of studies and to adopt innovative methods of teaching and evaluation. The University confers the degrees but the name of the college is indicated in the degrees issued. 

Fr. Dr. S. Ignaci Muthu, physics professor, heads the college.

The departments of the college are:

• English - Language and Literature
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Botany
• Zoology
• Visual Communication
• Economics
• Sociology
• History
• Social Work
• Commerce

The self-financing courses are:

• Computer Science
• French
• Commerce
• BBA
• Corporate Secretary ship
• Bio-technology
• M.A. Applied History
• Philosophy

Research papers:

• Mathematics
• Statistics
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Entomology
• Zoology
• Economics
• History
• Social Work
• Commerce

Loyola College also runs Special Institutes such as,

• Entomology Research Institute
• Loyola Institute of Frontier Energy (LIFE)
• Loyola Institute of Industrial Research and Social Science Research (LISOR)
• Loyola Institute of Vocational Education (LIVE)
• Ignatian Institute of Career Development

Loyola College enters the new millennium with the prospect of being assigned 'deemed university' status. But the challenges are many. To keep the legend of the college alive, every teacher and student has to work hard every day. A perusal of the rolls would probably indicate an affinity towards Christianity and a partiality towards Catholics in the matter of admissions. Even so, enormous numbers from other communities, irrespective of caste and creed, have benefited and prospered from their years in the college.