A degree college at Ziro had been a long-cherished dream of the people of Lower Subansiri district, especially the people of Ziro valley. In 2001, a delegation from Ziro approached the Catholic Diocese of Tezpur with the request for the same. Claretian Missionaries responded to this genuine and urgent need of the people.

The foundation stone for the college was laid on December 7, 2002, by the then minister for education, Shri Takam Sanjoy, in a 15-acre picturesque and serene green-spread at Salaya, 3.5 km from Old Ziro and 10 km from Hapoli, the district headquarters. A temporary wooden structure with an administrative block, five classrooms, and an auditorium was set up in the following months. With due permission from the Department of Higher Education, Government of Arunachal Pradesh and Arunachal University (currently called Rajiv Gandhi University), Saint Claret College was inaugurated on August 11, 2003, by Shri Padi Richo, MLA. In the inaugural year, the college offered B. A. courses in Economics, English, History, and Political Science for a batch of 16 students. In 2004, three more courses were added: Anthropology, Education, and Geography. The college also launched a unique centre, People Education and Social Empowerment Centre [PESEC] in order to offer diverse training and extension programs for various segments of the population. SCCZ  became an IGNOU study centre in 2005. The Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) of sisters joined the campus in 2005 to take care of the women’s hostel on campus. A full-fledged 100-bedded hostel for women—Saint Claret Hostel—became functional in 2006. A permanent and beautiful college building was inaugurated in 2008. In 2012, Shri Nabam Tuki, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, declared open the residential convent for the FCC sisters and a second hostel for women, Claretine Villa. Currently, there are 30 faculty members and 760 students, including 180 hostellers on campus. In 2013, SCCZ launched a full-fledged professional course in Mass Communication and release its first research journal, InterViews: An Interdisciplinary Journal in Social Sciences (ISSN: 2349-400X).

In 2015, SCCZ began the B. Com stream. On 2016 December 2, Saint Claret College became the first-ever institute of higher education in Arunachal Pradesh to receive accreditation with Grade “A” by NAAC in the very first cycle. Currently, SCCZ is the only accredited private college as well as one of the only two HEIs with Grade “A” in the State.

Over the years, several clubs, cells, and departmental associations have been formed on campus. With its dreams for a healthy mixture of traditional and innovative educational endeavours, SCCZ hopes to realize the educational dreams of the people of Arunachal Pradesh in particular and Northeast India in general.