It was founded on 11 February 1992 and is operated by the Fomento Educativo y Cultural Francisco de Ibarra, A.C.[2] The university serves some 16,000 students on its own at high school, undergraduate and postgraduate level and offers distance learning.

[3][1] The university also offers bilingual (English and Spanish) education from kindergarten to high school with Colegio de Inglés.

Postgraduate courses are on a semester system, and are offered only on the weekends.

The educational courses offered varies in each campus:[5] UAD operates the Lobos FM radio network, with stations at Durango, Gómez Palacio, Mazatlán, Hermosillo, Los Mochis, Zacatecas and Culiacán.

In addition, UAD operates a television station in Durango, XHUAD-TDT channel 4.