The Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, (DIAT) as it is known today, came into being as the Institute of Armament Studies in 1952 in the CME campus.

In 1967, the Institute was renamed as “Institute of Armament Technology, (IAT)”, which moved to its present location at Girinagar, Pune. From the relatively narrow scope of Armament Studies alone in the Fifties, the role of the Institute was considerably enlarged by the Defence R&D Council in 1964 and further in 1981.

On the basis of accreditation by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Pune University recognised eight courses for the award of ME degree in 1980. In the year 2000, the Institute acquired the status of a Deemed to be University. IAT has been renamed as DIAT w.e.f. 1st April 2006.