The first electrical engineering class at the college that became North Carolina State University was taught in 1893. Electrical Engineering became an independent department when it split off from Physics in 1917. The origins of the computer science program date to 1957. The department became Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1981.

Lieutenant Richard Henderson of the United States Navy, professor of Military Tactics and Physics, taught the first electrical course in 1893 at North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, now North Carolina State University. In 1894, the chair of Physics and Electrical Engineering was established and filled by Lieutenant Henderson. A four-year course leading to a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree was first offered in 1900.

In 1908, Professor William Hand Browne, Jr. was appointed head of Physics and Electrical Engineering. When Physics and Electrical Engineering separated in 1917 and became independent departments, Professor Browne remained head of the Electrical Engineering Department. During Professor Browne's tenure, the Engineer's Council for Professional Development (ECPD) accredited the department in 1937. The engineering programs at North Carolina State University received a huge boost when all engineering programs taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University were consolidated in Raleigh on July 1, 1938. After Professor Browne stepped down as department head in 1944, Professor Raymond S. Fouraker served as acting head for one year.

Several significant events occurred during Dr. Cornelius Godfrey Brennecke's tenure as department head from 1945 to 1954: (1) the Engineer's Council for Professional Development (ECPD) renewed the department's accreditation in 1949; (2) Dr. Brennecke added several faculty members holding doctorates; (3) in 1953, Robert Lee Clemons, a black student and honor graduate, from North Carolina A & T College (later University), in Greensboro, was admitted as a graduate student in electrical engineering; and (4) the first engineering doctoral degree given by the university (in electrical engineering) in 1953 to Ralph Marshall McGehee.

From 1954 to 1979 department heads and acting department head were: Dr. George Burnham Hoadley, department head (1954-1974); Dr. Larry K. Monteith, department head (1974-1978); and Dr. James F. Kauffman, acting head (1978-1979).

The origins of computer science at NCSU can be said to extend back to the basement of Patterson Hall when, in 1957, the Department of Experimental Statistics installed computers there. Five years later, this facility formally became known as the NCSU Computing Center. The role of computers at the university received a tremendous boost in August 1965 when NCSU joined Duke and UNC and, with the help of a National Science Foundation grant, formed The Triangle Universities Computation Center or TUCC. In less than two years, the system became fully operational. With Professor Dave Mason, from the Department of Statistics, spearheading TUCC for NCSU, the university soon had one high-speed access terminal and several medium and low-speed terminals to interface with the mainframe.

During Dr. Nino A. Masnari's tenure as department head from 1979-1988, numerous events took place. In 1981, the departmental designation was changed to Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. John Hauser, Michael Littlejohn, and Nino Masnari started the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) in the early 1980s. The Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Computer Engineering were approved in 1983. Research programs made significant advances during this time when several research centers were founded. The Center for Communications and Signal Processing (CCSP) was founded in 1982, the Electric Power Research Center (EPRC) in 1985, and the Center for Advanced Electronic Materials Processing in 1988.