The Melbourne Teachers' College was created in 1913, when the Training College was renamed. Previously, the Training College had been known as the Training Institution from its founding in 1888 (in the 1888 Building) until 1900 when it reopened after having been closed for 7 years from 1893 because of the Depression. The first principal was Dr John Smyth (originally appointed as Principal of the Training College in 1902) and the College conducted courses for the training of infant, primary, secondary, domestic arts, manual arts and special education teachers. The staff of the Melbourne Teachers' College provided most of the teaching in the University of Melbourne’s Department of Education. From 1903 secondary training was conducted in conjunction with the University, a connection that was extended and formalised in 1919 with the Principal, Dr John Smyth, being simultaneously appointed to the Chair of Education. During the 1920s trainee numbers rose far beyond the accommodation capacity, peaking at over 1,000 in 1928. New colleges established at Ballarat and Bendigo in 1926 eased the pressure until another round of depression cutbacks slashed trainee numbers. After Smyth's death in 1927, Lesley J. Wrigley was appointed Principal and Professor until his death in 1933. Professor George S. Browne became the new Principal and Professor and from 1934, the College was mainly concerned with training primary and infant teachers. The Victorian Department of Education also insisted on the severance of the positions of Principal and Professor and most of the connection between the College and the University during Browne's tenure. From 1939 - 1950, A. J. Law was Principal and by 1950, the shortage of secondary teachers in Victoria had become so serious that a new system of secondary studentship was introduced and some staff of the MTC were sent off to form a Secondary Training Centre. The Principal from 1951 - 1962 was George R. Mills and then Warwick Eunson from 1963 - 1972. During these periods, the College had been teaching new courses for infant, primary, library, art and craft (secondary and primary) and special education teachers. Post-war expansion saw enrolments peak at 1,153 in 1971 before the establishment of several new colleges relieved pressure. To rationalise resources the College amalgamated in 1973 with the adjacent Secondary Teachers' College to form the Melbourne College of Education, which in turn became the State College of Victoria at Melbourne, and, in 1983, the Melbourne College of Advanced Education, before being amalgamated in 1989 with the Education Faculty of the University of Melbourne to form the Institute of Education.

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