With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and BOJ President Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first liberal arts college in Japan.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology selected ICU as one of the 37 schools for The Top Global University Project in 2014.

ICU is known for being a fully bilingual campus, the classes are held in either English or Japanese, with all faculty required to have strong command in both languages.

With an emphasis on reconciliation and peace, ICU was envisaged as a "University of Tomorrow", a place where Japanese and international students would live together and learn to serve the needs of an emerging, more interconnected world.

When students enter ICU they sign the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights[2] and they are challenged to commit themselves to help bring about social justice and world peace.

The Honorary Chair of the US fundraising campaign was General Douglas MacArthur, and the North American public responded with generous contributions as well.

ICU's main campus of 150 wooded acres is located in Western Tokyo, with downtown areas like Shinjuku about half an hour's train ride away.

Excavated items found on the campus are on permanent display in the Hachiro Yuasa Memorial Museum.

ICU owns a 240-acre (0.97 km2) campus in Nasu and a 13-acre (53,000 m2) retreat center in Karuizawa, Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture.

[4] The University of California Tokyo Study Center which hosts the UCEAP program to Japan is also located on ICU campus.

In addition to research, these institutes plan and sponsor conferences, lectures, symposia and seminars as well as provide students with opportunities to meet distinguished scholars from Japan and overseas.

Students who come from abroad to study at ICU on a year-long exchange program are referred to as OYRs (One Year Regulars).

ICU students are known for their remarkable energy and initiative in creating a kaleidoscope of student-led and student-managed co-curricular activities.

As of 2016, 95.3% of ICU undergraduate alumni (students seeking employment) land a job right after graduation.

[20] ICU's academic programs of the College of Liberal Arts and the Graduate School are individually chartered by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).