St. Berchmans College, Changanassery, also known as SB College, is the first Autonomous College in Kerala, India with 3000 students with 800 hostlers. Saint John Berchmans is the patron saint of the college and is venerated in the Church as the Patron of Students. It is a Syrian Catholic college and widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India, producing a line of distinguished alumni. It is situated in the town of Changanassery 18 kilometers south of Kottayam. Established in 1922, the college has nineteen postgraduate and eight research departments. Students and alumni are called ‘Berchmanites’. It is run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Changanassery, is affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam and is recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC). St. Berchmans' has a sprawling green campus and large play grounds. The college was granted autonomy by the UGC on 13 June 2014.