The present Haramaya University can be traced back to the agreement made in 1952 between the governments of Ethiopia and the United States of America which resulted in the establishment of the Imperial College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. Oklahoma State University in the USA embarked on establishing physical plants and staff to run the college’s academic, research and extension programs. The four-year B.Sc in Agriculture was started at Haramaya campus in 1954 with both limited staff and facilities available. The College became a chartered member of Addis Ababa University following the contractual termination of Oklahoma State University in 1967. Consequently, it was re-named the Alemaya College of Agriculture in 1989.

In the last few years, the University has witnessed tremendous expansion in the number of faculties, departments, students, staff and physical infrastructure. Apart from undergraduate programs, the university has widely been engaged in the expansion and diversification of graduate programs at Masters and PhD level.