Manipal Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), formerly known as Manipal Engineering College and affiliated to Karnataka University, was established in 1957 by Dr. T. M. A. Pai, at a time when there was an acute shortage of engineering institutions in the Country.

As a result of the reorganisation of geographical boundaries of the three universities in Karnataka during 1965, the Institute was later affiliated to the University of Mysore and since 1980-1981 the Institute was under the affiliation of Mangalore University. In 2000, M.I.T. became a constituent institution of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal.