The college was established to enable a large number of students to have access to higher education. These students could not find entry into the only general multi-faculty college hitherto existing in Burdwan town. An urgent need for a second multi-faculty college was felt.

On the eve of Swami Vivekananda's birthday centenary in 1963, the then District Magistrate of Burdwan , Mr. K.P.S. Menon, Chairman of Zila Parishad Mr. Narayan Chowdhuri and other honourable citizens of Burdwan took initiatives to establish a new college in Burdwan town. Burdwan Municipality gifted a large chunk of land in the name of the proposed college in Sarshe Danga Mauja, near Sadarghat. Mr. Prafulla Chandra Sen, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, laid the foundation stone for the proposed Vivekananda Mahavidyalaya at the spot on 8 March 1964. On 23 March of the same year a provisional committee was formed with the District Magistrate Mr. K.P.S. Menon as President, Dr. Sailendranath Mukhopadhayay, the renowned physician, as the Vice-Precident, and Chief-Engineer of Burdwan Zila Parishad, Mr. Prafulla Kumar Paul, was appointed Secretary to the committee. Meantime a number of illustrious educationists came forward to raise a fund of nearly two lakh Rupees for the college. Set in peaceful surroundings away from the hubbub of the town, the college offers an ideal atmosphere for pursuing higher studies in the major Arts and Science subjects.

In 1964 the college was accorded the Govt. affiliation as a Govt. Sponsored College. On 26 August 1964, the college was inaugurated formally. Chief guest of the inauguration ceremony was the Director of Education, Govt. of West Bengal, Dr. Dhirendra Mohan Sen.

Setting out in a rather unceremonious way, the college has gradually occupied a glorious position in the field of higher education in West Bengal. The college has grown both in stature and structure. Recently three buildings have been constructed to accommodatethe growing number of students. Post Graduate and Degree honours courses in various subjects have been introduced. The college has not merely catered to the needs of students in Burdwan and its hinterland, but it has also been successful in maintaininga healthy, disciplined academic atmosphere for purposeful education.

The Governing Body, the teachers, the non-teaching staff and the students work in tandem to build up an ideal environment in the field of higher study and research. Vivekananda Mahavidyalaya is not just one of the many colleges, it stands aloft and apart in glory in its academic achievements through its very successful students placed in responsible positions in society in various fields of activity today.