The university was inaugurated by the then Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Lt. Gen. Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah(late).

KUST attained the status of degree-awarding institution vide NWFP ordinance No.

Later on, the university was expanded by establishing departments in Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology (Dr. Farzana Perveen has established the department of Zoology at KUST from the beginning and brings it up) and Microbiology.

The first vice chancellor of the university was Prof. Dr. Sher Ali Khan Shinwari.

The regular duration of BS and MS/M Phil degree programs are 4 and 2 years, respectively.