The station opened on December 1, 1979, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

Originally to be called Glebe Road, the station was renamed Ballston by the Metro board in March 1977.

[5] Known simply as Ballston since its opening, in December 1995, the Metro board voted unanimously to rename the station Ballston–MU,[6] with the "MU" standing for the adjacent Marymount University.

[9][10][11] Since at least 2005, the Arlington County government has planned for an additional western entrance to Ballston station, to be located on the south side of Fairfax Drive at North Vermont Street, intended to relieve crowding at the main entrance, serve the dense residential and office developments in that part of the neighborhood and serve buses coming from Interstate 66.

[13] In 2022, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority approved a $80 million grant to the county for the project.