Government of Pakistan established the Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering (CEWRE) in 1976 as a semi-autonomous institution of higher learning under the control of Higher Education Commission and the Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan. The Centre is academically affiliated with University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, which awards degrees to Centre’s graduates.
The Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering started two M.Phill degree programs in 1979 in the fields of Hydrology (HYD) and Water Resources Management (WRM). A 3rd M.Phil degree program was started in 1994 in the discipline of Water Resources Engineering (WRE). The degree program in Hydrology was redesigned as Engineering Hydrology (EHY). In addition M.Sc. degree was initiated in the fields of Water Resources Management WRM, Engineering Hydrology EHY, and Water Resources Engineering WRE. The Centre offered a 4th postgraduate M.Sc. degree program in the discipline of Hydropower Engineering (HPE) in 2000.