At the time of its inauguration, it was the only associated centre in Galicia, Asturias and León, regions to which it extended its territorial scope.

[7] The inauguration took place on 12 March 1973, in the presence of the Rector of the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Civil Governor of Pontevedra.

[5] Its first director, from 1973 to 1975, was José Antonio Souto Paz, professor of law at the University of Santiago de Compostela.

During the academic year 1974-1975, the UNED headquarters were temporarily transferred to two floors of the central building of the Provincial Savings Bank of Pontevedra, in the Campolongo neighbourhood,[8] and 1,188 students enrolled.

[21] The building has three floors and an inner courtyard, 4 parlours, a computer room, a library, 30 classrooms, laboratories (for physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, engineering, mathematics and computer science),[15][22] a meeting room, a bookshop, a cafeteria and a 600 square metre amphitheatre inaugurated in March 2016.

[23] A large mural of more than 12 metres in length by the artist Manuel Moldes, painted in 1987, decorates one side of the hall on the first floor of the UNED building.