Bishop Heber College is a religious minority educational institution established by the Tiruchirappalli - Thanjavur Diocese of the Church of South India. Its main objective is to cater for the higher educational needs of the members of the Church of South India and other Christians and specially to provide for them an educational atmosphere in keeping with the Christian ideals of the Church. The College, however, admits students of all faiths and religions and seeks to provide for them the best possible higher education.

The Heber Memorial School became a full-fledged high school in 1864 and sent its pupils for the Matriculation Examination. In 1873 the School was raised to a Second Grade College and in 1882 it became a First Grade College. It was then known as SPG College. It was the first college to be established in Tiruchirappalli. Honors courses in History and Mathematics were introduced in 1925. The College came to be known as Bishop Heber College in the late 1920's and its Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in 1926 under the presidentship of the Governor of Madras, Lord Goschen.