The ever-increasing need for skilled and fit-for-purpose manpower in Allied Health Sciences and the continuous brain drain and shift on the existing ones, as well as the ever-changing nature of healthcare service delivery globally, informed the decision of the Federal Government to establish this university (FUAHSE). This university is therefore conceptualized to train innovative, skilled, and proactive manpower in Allied Health Sciences and Technology for the nation.
The Federal University of Allied Health Sciences Enugu has as its precursor the Federal School of Dental Technology and Hygiene, which was established first in 1952 in Lagos to train dental technicians and hygienists. It became the Federal School of Dental Technology and Therapy in 1978, with the larger goal of training dental technologists and therapists. The school moved to its present location in Enugu in 1982 from No. 1 Broad Street, Lagos. Graduates of the School of Dental Technology were awarded either a National Diploma or Higher National Diploma, and graduates of Higher National Diploma will go for one-year internship before professional registration. Graduates practice as full professionals in Nigeria after registration with the Dental Technologists or Dental Therapists Registration Boards of Nigeria. In the year 2000, the school was enlisted into Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The School was accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in 2000 to award National Diploma and Higher National Diploma.
The school was later transformed into a college and granted power to award degrees by the Act of Parliament (Act No. 8 of 2017) and was assented to by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.
As a degree-awarding status, there was a need for mentorship. Sequel to that, the college was affiliated to Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). The National Universities Commission (NUC) approved the running of various undergraduate degree programmes in the college. The approval by NUC to run various undergraduate degree programmes was conveyed to the College in 2021, and the Commission listed the accredited undergraduate programmes and the degrees to be awarded as: Biomedical Technology (B. Tech), Dental Technology (B. Tech), Prosthetics and Orthotics (B. Tech), and Public Health Technology (B. Tech).