[10] The university was established in the Palais Dauphine, also known as the Palais de l'OTAN ("NATO Palace"), a building designed by Jacques Carlu and built at Porte Dauphine between 1955 and 1957 to serve as the NATO headquarters.

The legality of this was disputed, and some rejected students threatened lawsuits and were subsequently quietly admitted, a strategy that became increasingly popular by 2002.

[12] In response, in 2004, Dauphine ceased being a public university and became a grand établissement under the name Université Paris-Dauphine,[5] which legally allows it to practice selective admissions.

In 2009, Université Paris-Dauphine gained EQUIS (EFMD Quality Improvement System) accreditation, awarded by the European Foundation for Management Development.

[13] In 2011, Université Paris-Dauphine was one of the 16 co-founders of Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL).