The Cagayan State University started in 1974 when two years after a devastating war, the people of Sanchez Mira felt a need for a strong Secondary Education, thus the Sanchez Mira High School was born in 1960. The Congressman then of the 2^nd District, Hon. Benjamin T. Ligot passed about in Congress, which later became R.A. 2398, converting Sanchez Mira High School into Sanchez Mira Rural and Vocational School, which was housed in a 101-hectares of land in Sitio Nagbaranganan, a 2-kilometer walk from the National Highway. Seven years after, the enrolment increased. Since then, the phase of development has been fast.

          In 1974, an Agricultural Technician 2-year post-Secondary Curriculum was opened by authority of the Director of Vocational Education and it clicked with the big number of enrollees in 1976. Henceforth, two courses namely: Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education were offered and became the attraction of the school.

          In 1978, by virtue of P.D. 1436, Sanchez Mira Rural and Vocational School was converted, particularly its College Department as one of the nine satellite campuses of the Cagayan State University.

          On July 24, 1995, however, the course of development in the campus was hindered by an armed confrontation between the NPA rebels and the military, which resulted to a bloody combat. The incident sent every school inhabitant to town. The Municipal Mayor of Sanchez Mira then offered the use of the Municipal Gymnasium until the situation normalized. The school was then branded as the “University without a Campus”. This condition prevailed for long years; however, the academic development of the students was not stymied because of the presence of the intelligent, dedicated and loyal teachers.

          On May 1992, a 6.9-hectare lot along the Maharlika Highway was donated for the new site of the CSU-Sanchez Mira Campus. Meanwhile, the course offerings in the new campus broadened and the enrolment came pouring in, not only students from the 2^nd District of Cagayan but also to the neighboring provinces of Apayao and Ilocos Norte.

          Today, CSU-Sanchez Mira continues to offer Quality Education, making it a University that transforms the lives of every individual from all walks of life.