In 1868, Stuttgart's Royal Württemberg School of Construction opened a department to train mechanical engineers. Soon, demand for this programme was so high that the school in Stuttgart expanded to Esslingen. Industrial development in Esslingen was very advanced, especially in the area of engineering. In the following years, the spectrum of education was broadened, the school offering courses in electrical engineering, precision engineering, telecommunications, heating and ventilation. In 1938, the school was renamed the State Engineering School of Esslingen and in 1971, as Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, it added technical computer science and engineering management to its existing programs. The
Soziale Frauenschule (Social Women's School) of the Schwäbischen Frauenverein (Swabian Women's Association) was started in 1917 by a foundation established by . This was the forerunner to the University of Applied Sciences for Social Work. In 1998, reacting to the demands of industry, Esslingen University of Applied Sciences started its first English-language master's program, the MBA in International Industrial Management. The Esslingen MBA was one of the pioneers of international, English-language programs at
Fachhochschulen, the forerunner of Universities of Applied Sciences, in Germany; the
Fachhochschulen had been allowed to offer international degrees such as the MBA through the 1998 modification of the
Hochschulrahmengesetz (Higher Education Framework Act). The Esslingen Graduate School now runs and organizes three master's programs entirely in English. On 1 October 2006, the two Esslingen Universities of Applied SciencesTechnology and Social Workwere merged. ==Campus==