In the dawn of the independence there was no institution of the higher learning in the coal belt of Jharia-Dhanbad. The Students of this educationally backward area were in dire need of a college in those days. This was timely recognized by Raja Kali Prasad Singh then the Raja of Jharia. He constituted a trust for establishing the college in1949 and started Raja Shiv Prasad College in the memory of his father. In 1951 the college secured temporary affiliation with Patna University. Bihar University granted permanent affiliation to the college in 1952. With the establishment of Ranchi University in 1960 and Vinoba Bhave University (VBU) in 1992, the College subsequently formed the part of these Universities. The College was registered under Section 2(f) of UGC Act on 31-10-87. The College is the oldest one in Dhanbad and bordering districts and the second oldest constituent unit of VBU,Hazaribag. It became the First NAAC Accredited constituent unit of the University in 2006.
Education needs a breath of philosophy so that it may get a sense of the whole .The philosophical credo of the College family is :We at R.S.P college, Jharia believe in the footsteps of Dr. Saravapalli Radhakrishanan that knowledge is not something to be packed in some corners of our brain, but what enters into our being , colours our motions, haunts our soul, and is as close to us as life itself.