The Department of Earthquake Engineering, formerly known as the School for Research and Training in Earthquake Engineering (SRTEE) was established at the University of Roorkee (Now Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee) in 1960, which has now completed 60 years of excellence in the service of the nation. This department happens to be the only one of its kind in the country till date that deals with earthquake engineering problems and challenges. It is fully interdisciplinary since its existence, bringing together structural and soil engineers, geologists, and seismologists working as a team under one roof.

The Department is engaged in teaching at Post Graduate level and conducting basic and applied research proceeding up to Ph.D. programs along with developing Indian Standards and also training of field engineers in various aspects of earthquake engineering. Moreover, the Department of Earthquake Engineering is actively involved in carrying out sponsored research and consultancy projects through self-guiding state-of-art test facilities having the capability to convert research on paper into technology for field implementation.