St. Teresa's College, a pioneering institution in the field of Higher Education in India, was established on 15th June in the year 1925, as the first Women's College of the erstwhile Cochin State and the second in the whole of Kerala by the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of St.Teresa. It started functioning in one of the large halls of St.Teresa's High School with Sr.Beatrice as its first Principal and Mother Veronica as the first Manager and a student strength of just 41. While high academic standards were maintained in the college from the very start, students were also taught the value and dignity of labour, good social relationship and above all, lasting spiritual values through regular moral and religious instruction classes.

For fashion designing aspirants, the institute offers Post Graduate Diploma in Fashion Designing and Apparel Merchandising. The objective of the course is to enable the students to carve a niche for themselves in the world of fashion by equipping them with professional knowledge and skills to gain employment as designers and merchandisers in apparel industry or to start their own freelance work and designing units and thus provide them professional opportunities. The Women's Study Centre at the institute also conducts many crash courses in related areas.