In 1923, an English conference called the National Music Conference was held to decipher the future of music studies of the students of India. The conference was attended by all the high-profile diplomats of the country including Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, an esteemed musicologist from Bombay. The then Talluqdar of United Provinces and the committee decided together to set up an institute for the same.

Three years later in 1926, Morris College of Music was established under the then Governor Morris’ name. Shri Ratan Jankar from Maharashtra was anointed the administrator and also acted as the incharge for the vocal department amongst other esteemed members of the faculty. Some of the notable ustad(s) were Ustad Abid Hussain Khan who was the first tabla guru present in the college and revived the Lucknow gharana through his expertise and teaching. In the following years the college saw a stellar batch of teachers the likes of which were Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Shri Dinkar Kaykeni and Pandit Sakha Ram.

Up until 1966, it was a completely private college and in that very year it was taken over by the Indian government and was re-named Bhatkhande Hindustani Sangeet Mahavidyalaya. The mahavidyalaya consisted of four departments notably- Gayan, Dance, Swar Vadya and Taal Vadya. In the year 2000, the Uttar Pradesh and Indian government awarded it the name of Bhatkhande deemed University and research studies were also introduced. In 2022, it finally became a central university.

The University has been home to reviving the Indian Classical Music lineage and various artforms that took birth in the heartland and continues to do so.