Midnapore College had a very humble beginning. In 1836 it was under the Government Control and then converted into a Zilla School in 1840. In 1873 an endowment of Rs. 60,000/- (sixty thousand) was handed over to the Government and the Zilla School was raised to the status of a Second Grade College.

In 1887 the management of the College with its attached School was transferred to the Municipality not 'as a measure of economy but as a measure of promising useful political results'. The Municipality continued to manage it till 27th March, 1923, when it was taken back by the Government and placed under the control a Governing Body with the District Magistrate as its Ex-Officio president. The College was affiliated upto the Intermediate Standard in 1916 and the Degree Standard in 1922. It became a First Grade Degree Science College in 1924. Honours affiliation in Physics and Mathematics was obtained in 1926. In 1940 affiliation was obtained in B.A. Course. In 1956 it was included in the scheme of sponsored Colleges with the existing special constitution of its Governing Body. Thus ended a thrilling chapter in the history of Midnapore College marking the beginning of a new one.

The introduction of the U.G.C. Scales from 1.4.1957 in this College indicates that the College came under the U.G.C. affiliation in the same year, although the formal letter of U.G.C. recognition of those days is not now available in our office records. The College witnessed a rapid expansion after Independence. The Government felt the necessity of spreading higher education though this institution. Honours affiliation was then successively obtained in Economics (1951) and Chemistry (1953), English (1958), History (1958), Philosophy (1959). Political Science (1961). Sanskrit (1963), Bengali (1963), Botany (1964), Zoology (1968) and Physiology (1969). All these were when the College was under Calcutta University. From 1st June, 1985 the College came under the affiliation of the newly established Vidyasagar University which was established for inclusion of all the colleges of Midnapore District to relieve Calcutta University of excessive pressure of so many colleges.