Sometime prior to 1921, the Advisory Board of the School of Engineering appointed a Board of Engineering Studies, which comprised about twenty professors and the President of the University. It acted for the Advisory Board on all questions pertaining to undergraduate instruction in engineering. In the early years, the Committee spent much of its time considering applications of students who sought to fulfill credit requirements, absolve failures, or be reinstated in the school. Later, it considered general matters concerning engineering curricula, student advising, and development.

Like the various committees on academic standing, it made decisions on the status of individual students, including re-admitting students who had failed engineering classes. It also approved curricula for departments, recommended students for the Bachelor of Engineering Degree, and made a wide variety of decisions concerning undergraduate education. It revised the marking system, moved to accept ROTC for elective credit, supervised the student advising program, and requested funds from foundations such as Ford and Sloan. In 1962, the BES petitioned the state and city government to end racial discrimination in public facilities.