Schools in Bangalore are either run by the state government or by private, sometimes religious, organisations. Private schools in Bangalore typically use English as the medium of instruction and are affiliated with either the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) or the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in Junior College (also known as Pre-University) in one of three streams — Arts, Commerce or Science. Upon completing the required coursework, students enroll in general or professional degrees.

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Chief Engineer and later Diwan of Mysore (1912–19), played an instrumental role in shaping the early history of education in Bangalore. The University of Agricultural Sciences was started as a vocational school under his direction. He was also closely associated with the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science in 1909, Sir M Visvesvaraya also founded the prestigious University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering(UVCE) in 1917.

Bangalore is home to several other nationally renowned universities such as the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), National Law School of India University, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences and Bangalore Medical College. St. John's Medical College and Bangalore Medical College are consistently ranked among the top ten medical schools in India. Bangalore's IT industry recruits extensively from the city's large pool of engineering colleges. The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) is one of the three places in India where stem cell research is being done.