[3] Its founders, recent graduates of the university, included:[4] Alfred Ruus and Adalbert Lübeck were former members of Fraternitas Estica who were expelled in the spring of 1912 due to an internal rift over organizational priorities.

[4] As a result, Korporatsioon Ugala wanted to differentiate itself from the existing Baltic German student corporations.

One noted difference was a sense of morality and moderation, including the prohibition of alcohol in its meeting or convention rooms.

[4][2] The corporation's entire membership voted to join the army and fight in the Estonian War of Independence on November 12, 1918.

During the 1930s, the corporation's executive convention and the alumni pushed to abolish the traditional academic dueling.

[4] This decision was made so the corporation could absorb the membership of two smaller non-dueling student groups, Rajala and Valvila, that went dormant.

[2] Having outgrown the quarters it has rented since 1920, the corporation built Ugala House, a convention hall at 16 Kuperjanovi Street in Tartu.

[3] During the Soviet annexation of Estonia in 1940, Korporatsioon Ugala and other student associations were banned for nearly fifty years.

[2] After World War II, alumni members formed several exile chapters or teams, including one at a refugee camp in Geislingen, Germany.

[4] Although the majority of its activities are now in Tartu, the corporation continues to have chapters in Australia, Canada, and the United States, with Sweden merging into the Estonia group.