The first impulse towards the university was the creation of the Cristo Redentor College, in 1969 under the direction of Reverend Ruben Eugen Becker.

[1] The university's headquarters is located in the city of Canoas, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (the southernmost province of Brazil).

Within this state, Ulbra also has campuses in the cities of Cachoeira do Sul, Carazinho, Gravataí, Guaíba, Porto Alegre, Santa Maria, São Jerônimo and Torres.

As of 2007, Sport Club Ulbra have contested the Campeonato Brasileiro Third Division for the fourth time in a row, but have not been successful in their attempts towards promotion.

The school previously maintained a large museum of technology which had a collection of more than 200 vehicles from a Ford Model T to a 2000 Chevrolet Corvette and even the formula racing car driven by Emerson Fittipaldi when he won the Indianapolis 500 along with that race's pace car.