Endowed by Sir William Macdonald, the Institute was established in 1903 on the campus of the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) in Guelph, Ontario. Adelaide Hoodless was one of the first directors of the Institute which was established to train domestic science and home economics teachers.
In 1964 the Institute amalgamated with the OAC and the Ontario Veterinary College to form the University of Guelph. The Institute was reorganized in 1970 and is now part of the College of Family and Consumer Studies at the University of Guelph.