The larger institution was chartered by the Liberian Legislature on August 15, 1988. Due to civil strife in the country, Don Bosco did not begin operating until 1993 when the Mother Patern College of Health Sciences opened. Then in January 1997 the school's board resolved to open the larger institution, which occurred in November of that year. Don Bosco Polytechnic was then renamed as Stella Maris Polytechnic in 2005.