The beginnings of the College were in 2007 when the Higher Institute of Planning was established on April 1st 2007 as a postgraduate institute in the multidisciplinary field of spatial planning. The mission was to supply the public and private sectors in the Kurdistan Region with integrated planners who comprehend and cater for the needs and conflicting interests of different aspects of the sectorial development plans. Postgraduate studies leading to higher diploma were commenced in October 2008. Postgraduate diploma studies continued till 2011. In a separate strand, M.Sc. study in spatial planning was started in 2010.

Collaboration with the Faculty of Spatial Planning at TU Dortmund, Germany constituted the cornerstone of the internationalization effort of the School of Planning in the UoD. There have been several DAAD supported grants for strengthening planning education in Iraq and drawing up a curriculum for a joint bachelor degree program between TU Dortmund and the UoD. Several other universities were invited to take part. On 21-December 2011, The University of Duhok and TU- Dortmund University signed a partnership agreement to set up a joint bachelor program in Spatial Planning studies for Iraq. The current Joint Bachelor Program in Spatial Planning with TU Dortmund started in the College of Spatial Planning and Applied Science in 2011. Since then, the planning institute was expanded into joint bachelor program in Spatial Planning with TU Dortmund, which started in the Department of Spatial Planning (SP) in 2012. German professors are playing active roles in the implementation of the agreed upon program in the way of teaching as well as capacity building for our academic staff. The senior undergraduate students of this program take one of their courses in TU Dortmund as well as in German institutions that deal with spatial planning.

The Spatial Planning (SP) Department was established as an annex to the School of Planning to the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The School of Planning and Applied Sciences was detached from the College of Engineering and annexed to the then established College of Spatial Planning and Applied Science in 2014, which included both the Department of Spatial Planning and the Department of Applied Geosciences.

In 2022, the department of Applied Geosciences detached from the college, and the college was renamed into the College of City and Regional Planning. This was also accompanied by the establishment of a new department named the Department of City Planning which started the first year of study in the 2023-2024 academic year.