The institution also operates three Units of Basic Formation in the cities of San Felipe, Ciudad Morelos, and Guadalupe Victoria.

The Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) was officially formed on February 28, 1957, by organic law declaration as the result of a movement initiated by a group of professionals, businesspersons, scholars, and students.

This law establishes the principles in which the university was conceived: as a public service institution, separating it from the state's administration but with full judicial capacity.

Between October 1980 and January 1981, UABC was the stage of a strike movement carried out by faculty, staff and students in an effort to improve the democratic academic process and labor conditions within the university and the region.

The movement had mixed results where protests turned to riots eventually leading to the involvement of the government and police forces.

The Tijuana Campus was formally established in 2003 as a result of aiming to expand and solidify the academic spectrum and reach the socioeconomic and cultural needs of the region.

Although the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) is a public institution of higher education, it is not under the control of the state's governmental administration, and possesses the complete legal authority to carry out its core functions: instruction; research, cultural diffusion and community service.

As defined by the university's organic law, UABC is a public service institution, decentralized from the state's administration, endowed with full autonomy, judicial personality and its own assets.

A University Council, known as the Consejo Universitario serves as the collegial authority responsible of enforcing all rules and regulations established to allow the organized functionality of all administrative, staff/faculty and student affairs.

Board of Trustees (Patronato Universitario); V. Deans of Academic Departments, Schools, and Institutions (Directores de Facultades, Escuelas e Institutos); VI.

The Council's responsibility is the development and review of policies and procedures concerning the University, its staff, faculty and student body and present them to the Governing Board.

The candidates are presented by Baja California's state governor through ternary ballots of citizens of the municipalities of Ensenada, Mexicali, Tecate and Tijuana.

Board of Trustees members serve as administrators of the university's resources, assets, and services and account for their appropriate use and distribution.

The University Court summons the institution's governing body whenever a conflict concerning students arises and through analysis, discussion, and vote, an agreement is reached.

Vice Rectors are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the total per-campus program and provide leadership and coordination for the campus they oversee.