NUAMES was mandated by Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, and founded by Weber, Davis and Ogden school districts in partnership with Weber State University and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  The purpose of NUAMES was to create a qualified pipeline of students who are exposed to technology, math, engineering and science and prepared to continue on in college and in STEM-related careers.  

The first NUAMES campuses were located in Weber County and Davis County and opened its doors in 2004. In the early years of NUAMES, it had an initial chartered student enrollment of 250 students. In 2006, NUAMES moved to the Davis Tech College campus and then in 2008 NUAMES moved to Weber State University’s Layton campus. The move of NUAMES to Weber State’s Layton campus was a catalyst for NUAMES in providing an authentic early college experience on a university campus. Student outcomes shifted upward, student enrollment increased and NUAMES began to take flight. 

The joint partnership between NUAMES and Weber State, fosters an environment where students can attend high school on a University Campus, while earning college credit and reaping the benefits of a small, supportive school environment. From 2004 to 2011, NUAMES had an enrollment cap of 350 students. In 2012, NUAMES was granted a charter to double in size over the course of three school years.    

In 2017-2018 The NUAMES North campus was approved and chartered up to 550 students over a four-year growth pattern and NUAMES contributed $7.5 million dollars to a new state-of-the-art engineering building on the WSU Ogden campus. 

In the fall of 2018, NUAMES North opened its doors to 176 high school students and a new chapter in the NUAMES story began. In the Fall of 2023, the Weber State Noorda Engineering Building was completed and approximately 450 NUAMES students were the first students to attend classes in that building. NUAMES currently serves 1100 students per school year.