The university is modelled on international standards with a strong focus on the scientific advancement of the nuclear science-related STEM fields.

[1] Founded in 1967 as Reactor School from the sponsorship of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in response to support and manage the nuclear energy infrastructure in the country, the institute started its educational activities with the affiliation of Quaid-e-Azam University, and became Centre for Nuclear Studies (CNS) in 1976— the center gained its new name and became independent as public university in 1997.

[5] The first college classes were offered in a lecture auditorium at the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), and had only one faculty member Dr. Inam-ur-Rehman from the Mississippi State University to teach courses in engineering.

[5] It was Khan who lobbied to the government to secure funding to move the Reactor School from Nilore to Islamabad.

[6] In 1976, the Reactor School was renamed as Centre for Nuclear Studies (CNS) as Khan and Rehman were the first to serve on its original faculty and painstakingly instituting the engineering education program by building the criteria for the bachelorette and master's degree programs offered in engineering and physical sciences.

[7] Today, PIEAS is a multi-faceted, degree-awarding university-level educational institution, with academic and training programmes being conducted at the highest level in a broad spectrum of disciplines.

The physical structure comprises nine academic blocks, eight workshops, production plants for liquid nitrogen and oxygen, 30 laboratories, lecture halls, a video-conferencing facility, conference rooms, and a 400-seat auditorium.

The length of these courses vary from 2 to 18 months, and the areas covered have included reactor supervision and operation, health physics, medical physics, laser technology, vacuum technology, computer applications advanced reactor safety and management sciences.

95 of them have PhD degrees from highly reputed institutions in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, China, Japan, Austria and Australia.

PIEAS is a multifaceted educational institution, with academic and training programs conducted at the highest level in a broad spectrum of disciplines.

Nukta used to be an annual inter-university event held under the collaboration of both PIEAS PERFORMING ARTS and PDS.

Both these publications are available in a PDF format from the official website of PIEAS,[13] whereas only the annual magazine's hard copy is distributed among the students.