The university was founded on September 15, 1936, by a decree of the Catholic Archbishop of Medellín, Monsignor Tiberio de Jesús Salazar y Herrera as the Universidad Católica Bolivariana (UCB, Catholic Bolivarian University).

The UCB started with a small faculty and 78 students enrolled in the School of Law and with Monsignor Manuel José Sierra as its first rector.

The CIDI seeks to maintain a close and dynamic relationship between industry and academia through technology transfer and consulting services.

The campus established the university's presence in Colombia's Atlantic region with academic programs in law, management, journalism, engineering, informatics, electronics, mechanical, agroindustrial, environmental management and several graduate programs.

The university opened the campus in 2001 with programs such as Psychology, Marketing, Human Resources, Management, and Economics.

UPB has agreements with universities in Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, United States, Colombia, Cuba and Venezuela.

UPB has a complete system of documentation and bibliography, with the central library residing in a dedicated four-story building.