The University College of Science (erstwhile Government Science College) was established in 1940. In the beginning, it was an intermediate college. When it was upgraded into a degree college, BSc courses in different combinations such as PCM, CBZ, PMG and CBG were introduced. Commerce subjects too were introduced in 1970.
The erstwhile Government Science College was inaugurated by His Excellency Sri V.V. Giri, Bar-At-Law, the then Governor of Mysore on August 11, 1966. In 1973 the College was bifurcated into Science, and Arts Colleges. Since then, the College has been growing with its unique identity as an institution of pride and reputation.
In the year 2000-2001, new subjects like Computer Science, Microbiology, Electronics and Biochemistry were introduced in the College. In 2007-2008, Biotechnology was introduced, enabling students to pursue BSc with as CBBt combination. In 2008, the Post Graduate courses were introduced in Physics, Chemistry and Environment Science. The student strength of the college is gradually increasing. In the year 2000, the strength was 1,040, in 2005 it was 1,300 and in year 2007-2008, it was 1,323. The college has an area of 90 acres and the campus is about 98,800 sq. ft. In 2009, the erstwhile Government Science College was handed over to Tumkur University, when it was renamed as University College of Science. Presently, it is one among the two constituent colleges of Tumkur University.
Dr. B. Tirumalachar was the first principal of the erstwhile Government Science College, whose tenure was from June 1940 to July 1945. Since then, the college has seen 28 principals. At present, Sri Eshwara H Y is the Principal of the College.
Under the able guidance and leadership of Tumkur University, the College is reaching greater heights from all angles. A Remote Sensing Centre has come up in the college as a joint venture of Tumkur University and ISRO. The college is equipping itself with more infrastructure and space in order to accommodate more courses and facilities. A digital library is also coming up on the campus. A number of faculties in different departments have applied for major and minor research projects, seeking funds from various agencies, while many of them have already got their projects sanctioned.