The college opened on September 18, 1967, in Oshawa, with 16 portable classrooms, 14 staff and 205 students. It offered courses in applied arts, business and technology. The college soon added courses in health sciences and adult training. By 1977, enrollment had grown to 1,250 students.^[1]

The 1980s saw the construction of a new robotics lab and further expansion of facilities, and enrollment continued to grow to 2,700 by 1987.

In 1993, the college opened a secondary campus in Whitby, Ontario. It began to offer skilled trades and apprenticeship programs through the campus's Skills Training Centre.

In the early 2000s, the college established partnerships with York and Trent universities which allowed students to access university courses from the Durham College Oshawa campus. In 2003, a similar partnership was formed with Ontario Tech University. The college expanded its program offerings to include over 100 full-time programs. Enrollment grew to over 7,100 students.

In the 2010s, the college continued to expand campus facilities and opened Suswaaning Endaajig, a centre for aboriginal students, and the Durham Chinese Canadian Cultural Centre.

In 2018, Durham College completed construction on a new building known as the Centre For Collaborative Education (CFCE). It houses several classrooms for health programs. The CFCE building replaced the Simcoe Building.

In October 2022 it was announced that the college had acquired naming rights to the Oshawa GO Station, located 30 minutes away from the college's main campus by bus (8.2 km), for an undisclosed sum.^[2]

Both campuses feature on-campus housing for students, sports and recreational activities, shopping, restaurants, transportation, parking, health and medical facilities.

The college features a 73,000-square-foot (6,800 m²) campus library which has four floors of learning space and a rotunda housing a periodicals collection. Other learning spaces include the computer learning commons, student services building, student centre, and a variety of other study spaces.

Durham College offers first year information, academic support resources, career services, and Student Academic Learning Services (SALS). The student life office and Student Association offer events and programs for students of all years. Student-run media includes The Chronicle student newspaper, Riot student radio, and The Water Buffalo. The college offers a variety of athletic programs.

Durham College shares much of its Oshawa campus and facilities with Ontario Tech University. The college, in conjunction with Ontario Tech and private enterprise, has developed network infrastructure to support laptop-based learning at both institutions. This includes the integration of wireless services on campus, as well as e-learning content and curriculum development.

The college offers a wide range of programs in various disciplines, including business, information technology, media, art, design, science, skilled trades, criminal justice, emergency services, health, and engineering technology. Additionally, it administers part-time programs,^[3] micro-credentials, and professional development courses, available both online or in-person.

• Gordon Willey (1967-1980)
• Mel Garland (1980-1988)
• Gary Polonsky (1988-2006)
• Leah Myers (2006-2008)
• Don Lovisa (2009–2024)^[4]
• Elaine Popp (2024–present)^[5]

• Sherwood Bassin - College professor, general manager in Ontario Hockey League.

• Jeffrey S. Boyce - President and CEO of Sure Energy Inc.; founder, former president and CEO of Vermilion Resources, a $1-billion oil and gas exploration and production company. 2006 recipient of the Premier's Award.
• Tyler Boyco - filmmaker and artist popular for making a Robin Williams portrait that went viral in 2014.^[6]
• Dylan Jón Hannesson - CEO of the German imageboard "Krautchan.net".
• Brandon Nolan - retired hockey player, vice-president of Ted Nolan Foundation.
• Patricia O'Connor - founding member of the Canadian Association of Aero-medical Transport. Recipient of the Order of Canada in 2007 and recipient of the Premier's Award in 2009.
• Lauren Toyota, vegan cookbook author and blogger; former Canadian television personality
• Paul Vessey - COO of Visa USA and recipient of the Premier's Award in 2000.
• Fred Upshaw - former president of OPSEU, which represents 110,000 Ontario public sector workers; deceased.
• Bev Woods - councillor with the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario and was president of the Bay of Quinte Dental Hygienists Society and Ontario Dental Hygienists' Association.
• Roland Kielbasiewicz - founder and CEO of Loraxian, Inc.
• Sheldon McIntosh - famous drag queen "Tynomi Banks", who starred on the first season of Canada's Drag Race.

Varsity sports at Durham include:

• Men's and women's golf
• Men's and Women's 7's Rugby
• Men's baseball
• Women's fastball
• Men's and women's volleyball
• Men's and women's basketball
• Men's and women's indoor soccer

Teams compete as the "Durham Lords".

• Higher education in Ontario
• List of colleges in Ontario
• Ontario Tech University

• Official website
• Official athletics website