It was founded in 1859 by Jacob S. Whitman, professor of natural science.

The College offers baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degree programs in the basic sciences.

Eberly faculty members were the first to: "see" an atom (physicist Erwin Mueller); formulate covariant quantum gravity (physicist Abhay Ashtekar); discover practical synthesis of the pregnancy hormone progesterone (chemist Russell Marker);[4] and discover planets outside the Solar System (astronomer Alex Wolszczan).

College graduates include Nobel Prize winner Paul Berg and three U.S. astronauts.

Mary Beth Williams was appointed the acting dean of the Eberly College of Science on April 15, 2024.