Isabella Thoburn College,Lucknow is the outcome of the initiatives of Isabella Thoburn, an American missionary who was among the first missionaries sponsored by the Women’s Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to India. It is affiliated to the Lucknow University and is ISO 9001-2008 certified. The IT College also received an A grade accreditation by the NAAC, Bangalore. The demand for higher education grew and Lucknow Women's College as it was then called, started functioning in 1886 with the Fine Arts (F.A.) classes affiliated to Calcutta University. In 1894, the affiliation shifted to Allahabad University. Over the years, the College has made its steady contribution to the field of education and the upliftment and education of women in India.
The college is now affiliated to Lucknow University. The college teaches five undergraduate courses, leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), and Bachelor of Library and Information Science (B.L.I.Sc). There are also postgraduate courses leading to the degrees of Master of Arts (M.A) and Master of Science (M.Sc). Courses offered Undergraduate: Bachelor of Arts (B.A) Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) Post graduate: M.Sc. Bio-Technology M.Sc. Chemistry M.Sc. Nutrition M.Sc. Zoology M.A. English M.A Economics M.A. Geography M.A. Sociology M.A. Women’s Studies Professional courses: Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) Bachelor of Library and Information Science (B.L.I.Sc.) Various vocational courses are also taught and the facility of distance education is also provided.