Originally located in the settlement of Kedumim,[5] it moved to Ariel where it built a larger campus and went on to become the largest Israeli public college.

On 17 July 2012, the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria voted to grant the institution full university status.

The university and its staff have been the target of boycotts, both in Israel and overseas, for its location in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Based on the findings of a committee appointed by the council, it was decided not to approve the establishment of any new universities in Israel for the next five years.

[11] Said British Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt: "We are also deeply disappointed in the decision to upgrade Ariel’s university centre.

[19] Current enrollment at the university is about 14,000, including Jewish (secular and Orthodox), Arab, Druze, and Circassian Israeli students.

[31] Ariel University Center has signed academic cooperation agreements with over 51 higher education institutions around the world, including the United States, Russia, France, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Taiwan and Armenia.

[38] Due to its location in Israeli-occupied territory, Ariel University was excluded from receiving funding as part of the Horizon 2020 research program signed between the EU and Israel in 2013.

[41] In 2009, the Spanish Housing Ministry disqualified the university from taking part in an international architectural competition in 2009.

The Spanish government explained that their decision to ban the university was a result of it being located in Palestinian occupied territories.

"[45] Due to Ariel University's location in a settlement, it is excluded from receiving funds from the EU and the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development.

In 2018, prominent international physicists, including David Gross, Martin Rees and Ed Witten, published an open letter calling for fellow academics not to attend a conference at Ariel University, and not to participate in "attempts to normalise the occupation of Palestinian territories".