When the School of Engineering was first founded under the leadership of Dean Frank O. Marvin, it had no dedicated building, instead sharing space with other departments in Blake and Fraser Halls. For a time the only engineering school in Kansas, it soon attracted far more students than the small shared spaces could hold. By 1906, the school had around 2,000 students, and Chancellor Frank Strong’s repeated efforts to acquire more funding for new buildings finally paid off. Budget allocations for the construction of Haworth and Marvin Halls were approved, and the two new buildings opened to classes in 1909.

From 1927-1968, the School of Engineering included architecture as part of its purview. In 1968 the School of Architecture and Urban Design became a separate entity, and Engineering went again from being the School of Engineering and Architecture to solely the School of Engineeering.

Throughout the 20th century, the School adapted to new scientific developments as the demand for new skills, such as computer or aeronautics engineering, in the job market rose. Programs that had been part of the School of Engineering in its early years, such as mining engineering and metallurgy, fell out of favor and were eventually abolished entirely. In 1957, KU acquired its first computer, and by the mid-1980s the Department of Electrical Engineering had added Computer Science to its purview and hired new professors with specialties in computing.

As new programs like Computer Engineering rose to prominence, the School of Engineering began increasingly to emphasize research and interdisciplinary education. Through research centers like the Remote Sensing Lab founded in 1964, students gained hands-on experience in their fields.

The School of Engineering, while continuing to offer courses on topics including Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering, has integrated new, modern specialties like Bioengineering into its curriculum, even further expanding and updating its course catalogue.