Samar State University is an educational landmark of vital importance to the province of Samar. It gives everyone the opportunity to pursue higher education, which is very much needed for vocational proficiency, and individual as well as national development.

Samar Trade School was its name upon establishment in 1912, serving as laboratory shop of the Samar Provincial High School. Made later as a purely secondary trade school, it had its first graduation exercise in 1932. On June 21, 1959, by virtue of Republic Act No.2435, the Samar Trade School was converted to Samar School of Arts and Trades (SSAT). It was authorized to offer a two-year technical curriculum in various vocational courses. Not long after, the school was given the leeway to offer the four-year teacher-education curriculum, Bachelor of Science in Industrial Education (BSIE) and the four-year technical education curriculum, Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology (BSIT).