The Hartford Graduate Center was established in 1955 by Rensselaer and the United Aircraft Corp (a predecessor to Raytheon Technologies) to address a shortage of scientists and engineers in southern New England.

United Aircraft bought and equipped the first building and provided annual financing so that its employees could earn graduate degrees at no individual cost.

[3] The Graduate Center began with 220 students and seven faculty members who relocated from Rensselaer's main campus in Troy, NY to Connecticut, along with adjunct professors from local industry.

An additional campus was founded in Groton, Connecticut, to respond to the educational demands of Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics.

Since moving to an entirely digital format of instruction for working professionals, the Institute has closed both the Groton and Hartford facilities, with faculty and staff distributed across the US.