In the year 1965, the Government of Tamil Nadu Started Periyar EVR College in Tiruchirappalli, the central part of Tamilnadu, naming it after the great thinker and social reformer Thanthai Periyar. Half a century ago, higher education was beyond the reach of the oppressed and economically marginalized younger generation in and around Tiruchirappalli. To cater the educational requisites, Thanthai Periyar, the visionary leader of Justice Party and a well-known social reformer of Tamil Nadu, generously donated 9.65 acres of his land and Rs.3.5 lakhs, and requested the Tamil Nadu Government to start a college at Tiruchirappalli. Utilizing the philanthropic help of Thanthai Periyar, the Government of Tamil Nadu started a Government College at Race Course Road, Khaja Nagar, Tiruchirappalli during the academic year 1965-1966, and named it ‘Periyar EVR College’ in honour of the leader. The then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Honourable M. Bhakthavatchalam inaugurated the college on 24.08.1965.
Now, our college campus is expanded to 52.62 acres endowed with adequate class rooms and infrastructural facilities. Nearly ninety percentstudents of this college belong to the oppressed and economically marginalized sections, who hail from rural and urban background. Many of them are first generation learners. Periyar E.V.R. College performs the role of uplifting the poor students by providing them holistic higher education and mould them as reputable individuals with responsibilities towards their families, society and ultimately the nation. Due to the selfless services and credibility of the academia, the college attained autonomous status during 1998-1999. Now we offer 14 Under Graduate and 13 Post Graduate programmes in addition to 11 M.Phil programmes. Thirteen of our departments have been recognized as potential Research Centers by the Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli. Special Shift System (SSS) was introduced in the year 2006 by the State Government Policy of Education with the available infrastructure.