The university offers bachelor's, master's and doctorate degree programs in engineering disciplines to nearly 8000 students.

In the beginning, the department was located in the extended compound of Rangoon General Hospital in downtown Yangon and consisted of two lecturers and 17 students.

[2] In 1927, it became a separate entity, BOC College of Engineering and Mining, named after Burmah Oil Company, and was moved four miles north.

In 1961, the college became Burma Institute of Technology (BIT) of Rangoon University and was moved to the current building complex in Gyogone built by the Soviet Union.

[2] In 1964, BIT was renamed Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) and, more importantly, made an independent university under the Ministry of Education.

[3] Students are accepted to YTU's undergraduate programs based on their scores from the annual university entrance examinations.

The following one-year postgraduate diploma, two-year master's and doctoral programs are offered in applied sciences.

The largest group of overseas alumni are believed to be in Singapore Under Ministry of Education (from 1927 to 1996) Under Ministry of Science and Technology (from 1997 to present) YTU is a member of Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net), and Greater Mekong Sub-region Academic and Research Network (GMSARN).

Ko Phone Maw, a fifth-year chemical engineering student from the Rangoon Institute of Technology, in the campus was shot dead in the campus by the Riot Police during a protest regarding a brawl with youths from west Gyogone ward.Five other students were injured.

Subsequent protests after brutal crackdowns escalated into a national uprising against the Socialist government that resulted in the resignation of the dictator Ne Win in July 1988.