Prior to the establishment of Solomon Islands National University in 2013, most of the training needs of Solomon Islands were met by various training institutions established by the government and administered by responsible ministries. Some of these training schools existed before Solomon Islands gained its independence in 1978.
In 1984, an Act of Parliament called "Solomon Islands College of Higher Education Act" was passed. This Act pooled all the existing schools that were under the government to form a new institution called the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) until 1st January 2013 when Solomon Islands National University was incepted by Act of Parliament. These schools taught by SICHE were Solomon Islands Teachers College, Public Administration Training School, Ranadi Marine Training School, Honiara Nursing Training school, and Honiara Technical Institute. These schools formed the basis for the establishment of the schools: School of Education, School of Finance & Administration, School of Marine & Fisheries Studies, School Nursing and Health Studies, School of Industrial Development and School of Natural Resources.
In 2008, the need to diversify the training scope was realized by the government which gave rise to the need to amend the Solomon Islands Act in 2008 to include the School of Tourism and Hospitality and any other schools the College sees fit. This amendment had made way for the establishment of the School of Humanities, Science & Media.
The above schools formed the basis for the establishment of the schools: School of Education and Humanities (SOEH), School of Business and Management (SBM), School of Technology and Maritime Studies (STMS), School of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences (SNAHS) and School of Natural Resources and Applied Sciences (SNRAS).
Solomon Islands National University (SINU) was incepted in January 2013 after a bill for its inception was passed in parliament in late 2012. SINU now has five faculties namely Faculty of Business & Tourism Studies, Faculty of Science & Technology, Faculty of Nursing, Medicine & Health Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry and Faculty of Education & Humanities.
SINU has three campuses, which include Kukum, Ranadi and Panatina campuses.