Founded in 1903, the university has a primary focus on undergraduate engineering education with additional programs in business, mathematics, and nursing.

Werwath developed a new curriculum "to equip the student in college-level engineering standards needed for the degree award combined with parallel hands-on training.

This allowed for students to graduate with collegiate engineering degrees in 3 years, or 4 if they chose not to take the summer quarter.

In the summer of 1919, 52 Bachelor's degree graduates as well as 11 faculty were offered admission to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.

This allowed the formation of the Board of Regents, a group of industrial and community leaders to oversee management of the school.

[5] MSOE received the official seal of approval from the Society for the Promotion of Engineering in 1943, as part of recognition for educational achievements.

For the first time, the university started accepting females into its program in order to replace males who were drafted into World War II.

Following the end of the war enrollment swelled in 1946 and 1947 due to the GI Bill of Rights allowing returning service personnel to pursue a college education.

By the time of the school's 50th anniversary in 1953, enrollment reached 2,300 students from 48 states and 30 foreign countries.

[5] MSOE's logo was designed by industrial engineer Brooks Stevens's firm for the school's 1978 diamond jubilee.

[7] MSOE's campus, which occupies 22 acres (0.089 km2) in the East Town neighborhood of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is spread over several blocks.

Dedicated in 1980 by Gerald Ford, the library is named after Wisconsin magnate Walter Schroeder[9] and has the mathematics as well as the electrical engineering and computer science faculty offices.

Most of the administration buildings are located in Student Life and Campus Center, which was acquired from Blatz Brewery in 1987.

The department of civil and architectural engineering and construction management (CAECM) have their faculty offices here as well.

MSOE's Kern Center houses many of the sports teams' facilities, as well as offering recreational areas for students, faculty and alumni.

The athletic field was built on top of an in-ground parking facility immediately north of the Kern Center.

Additionally, the project allowed for new offices for coaches and new women's locker rooms in the Kern Center and Viets Field.

The curricula at MSOE are centered on engineering, business, mathematics, nursing, and cardiovascular perfusion.

[23] The admitted students’ academic profile showed 75% were in the top 50% of their high school class, SAT scores of 670 in evidence-based reading and writing, 700 in math.

[23] According to U.S. News & World Report's 2020 "Best Regional Universities Midwest Rankings," MSOE is rated eighth overall, sixth in "Best Colleges for Veterans", tied for eighth in "Most Innovative Schools", ninth for "Best Value Schools", and tied for 88th in "Top Performers on Social Mobility".

[33] The Milwaukee School of Engineering operates on a four-quarter system year-round, with its academic terms lasting ten weeks each.

Most of the programs use a track system that outlines what courses students should take and pass for each term in order to graduate in four years.