Brunel is one of several UK universities created in the 1960s following the Robbins Report on higher education. In 1957 the original Acton Technical College, which was based in Acton on the outskirts of London, was split into two sections. The Acton Technical College continued to cater to technicians and craftsmen, whereas the Brunel College of Technology was dedicated to the education of technologists. From April 1st 1962 the name changed to Brunel College of Advanced Technology. On the June 9th 1966 a Royal Charter was awarded, providing university status.

The University continued to use both campuses until 1971, when the Acton site was closed. For the next nine years only the Uxbridge campus existed, then in 1980 the University merged with Shoreditch College of Education, located at Cooper's Hill, Runnymede. The Shoreditch College, which was founded in 1951, provided education in product and industrial design, thus it was the source of today’s design program.

In 1995 the University expanded again, integrating the West London Institute of Education, which added campuses in Osterley and Twickenham. This increased the number of courses that Brunel University was able to offer beyond the traditional programs in engineering, science, technology and social sciences. The addition of the West London Institute added departments in the areas of the arts, humanities, geography, earth science, health and sports science.

In 2005 the University closed the Runnymede campus, moving design to the main campus in Uxbridge, and investing significant resources towards the upgrading of design workshop facilities and design computer resources. Several new staff members have also joined the design team since 2005, and the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programs have been significantly revised.

Today, design has more than 500 students between the undergraduate and postgraduate programs, and the university as a whole has more than 14,000 students. Brunel Design is currently one of Europe’s major centres of undergraduate and postgraduate design education, and it is our goal to expand further our teaching and research activities so as to become Europe’s leading technological design programme. We are currently focussing both our teaching and our research towards the design of intelligent, animate, objects, meaning products which interact with humans in a functionally appropriate, cognitively informative and emotionally engaging manner.

Long-term goals:
- 2007 launch MSc in Human Centred Design
- 2008 launch MSc in Integrated Product Design
- 2009 launch BA in Design Management
- 2010 establish international research reputation Human Centred Design, Sustainable Design and Advanced Design Techniques.
- 2015 Established collaborative engagement with industrial partners on training, short course provision and research. Establish close links with schools and pre-university entrants via web-based virtual design team support and collaboration. Establish a comprehensive database of design case studies and reports, supported by workshops and newsletters.