Graduate instruction was first offered at North Carolina State University in 1893, and the first doctoral degree was conferred in 1926. A Graduate School existed from 1923 to 1931, when it was eliminated with the consolitation of the public universities in North Carolina. In 1958, a graduate dean was re-establised at North Carolina State College. In the ensuing years, the Graduate School has grown steadily and has provided instruction and facilities for advanced study and research in the fields of agriculture and life sciences, design, education, engineering, natural resources, humanities and social sciences, management, physical and mathematical sciences, textiles, and veterinary medicine.

As of 2008, the Graduate School was composed of more than 2,500 faculty members. Educated at major universities throughout the world and established both in advanced teaching and research, these scholars guided the University's 6,000 masters and doctoral students from all areas of the United States and many other countries.