Although the Yukon College wasn't formally established until 1988 by the College Act, 1988, its predecessor, the Whitehorse Vocational Training School (later to become the Yukon Vocational and Technical Training Centre) opened in 1963 with a focus on teaching skills that enabled adults to gain employment. In 1977 the territorial government made arrangements with the University of British Columbia to offer a one-time university-level Yukon Teacher Education Program. At its end, however, public demand for more local post-secondary services continued. The birth of Yukon College in 1983 was due to the territorial government's dissatisfaction with the inadequate programming offered by the only training institute of the region, and the dissatisfaction of its electorate with the occasional extension courses offered through other universities. The research policies and initiatives of the college have also established a foundation of academic training.
In 2007, the Yukon School of Visual Arts was established to provide the foundational year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) or a Bachelor of Design (BDes). The school is a partnership between Dawson City Arts Society, Yukon College and the Tr'ondek Hwech'in. Governance comes from all three partners equally and funding comes from the Yukon Territorial Government. Accreditation comes from Yukon College and articulation agreements are in place with ECUAD, ACAD, OCAD, and NSCAD.