Founder Chauncey Rose, along with nine friends, created the Terre Haute School of Industrial Science in 1874 to provide technical training after encountering difficulties in recruiting local engineers during construction of his railroads.

Nearly half of the original students would eventually leave their studies before graduation for several reasons, including poor grades or conduct.

[6] The first president was Charles O. Thompson, who modeled the education of Rose Polytechnic after eastern institutions, making it the first private engineering college west of the Alleghenies.

[8] In 1917, the school, having grown to more than 300 students, moved from 13th and Locust Street to a new site consisting of 123 acres (0.50 km2) of farmland east of town, donated by the Hulman family of Terre Haute.

The old location was used continuously by the Vigo County School District from 1922 to 2013; as of 2020 the Terre Haute Boys & Girls Club occupies the site.

In recognition of the Hulman family's significant contributions and continued financial support, in particular a $15 million addition to the endowment, Rose Polytechnic was renamed Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology in 1971.

[9] The quarterly cryptology journal Cryptologia was founded and published at RHIT from 1977 to 1995, at which time it was moved to the United States Military Academy.

[10] For most of its history, Rose–Hulman was a men's only institution with some cooperative arrangements with Saint Mary Of-The-Woods College women's school and Indiana State University.

Shook Field House was replaced by the $20 million Sports and Recreation Center, which the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts used for their summer training camp from 1999 to 2010.

After the 2004 retirement of institute president Samuel Hulbert, who had led the school since 1976, the college faced a leadership crisis.

Students, some wearing T-shirts proclaiming "Hit the Road Jack", held a rally calling for Midgley's resignation.

During the succeeding academic year, Robert Bright, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, served as interim chief executive officer.

Branam died of a heart attack in April 2012,[18] and the cabinet subsequently selected Robert A. Coons as the institute's interim president.

[19] In 2017, the school acquired 4.5 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi) from the former home of Mari Hulman George.

The BIC and KIC provide rapid prototyping and manufacturing options to students, in addition to housing thermofluids and wet lab facilities, conference rooms, classrooms, and project team workshops.

The school's primary focus is undergraduate education, though there is a small graduate program for master's degree students.

[30] As of 2021, the institute has been ranked first among engineering colleges that do not offer a doctorate degree by U.S. News & World Report for 24 consecutive years.

[34] The student body tends to come mostly from the Midwestern United States, though, as the school has gained prominence, it has gradually attracted a more geographically and ethnically diverse applicant pool.

[37] Rose–Hulman Ventures serves as a source of internships and job opportunities with startups and established companies of all sizes for Rose students and alumni.