In 1978 Pope John Paul II promulgated the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which made allowance, in Article 3.3, for the establishment of Catholic universities by laypersons.

Mendoza, a strongly homophobic member of the Neocatechumenal Way, the Pontifical Council for the Family and father of 14 children with ties to the far-right party Vox, served as president of the university.

In 2023, the prestigious company specialised in the analysis of higher education institutions around the world, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), gave UCAM a special distinction for its teaching model, the inclusivity of its university campuses, its internationalisation, online training and commitment to its students, as well as for its high score in employability.

UCAM promotes theological and philosophical research, and thus areas such as anthropology, social doctrine, ethics, bioethics and humanities play a leading role in all degree programmes.

Examples include the then Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) or the former head of the Spanish government José María Aznar; Kiko Argüello, founder of the Neocatechumenal Way; Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, prelate of Opus Dei; the journalist José María García and the orthopaedic surgeon Pedro Guillén.

Among the research programmes, the international doctorate in collaboration with the FOM - Fachhochschule fuer Oekonomie und Management of Germany is worth mentioning.

University sport UCAM has several Olympic medallists such as Mireia Belmonte, Saul Craviotto, Carolina Marín, Ruth Beitia, Lidia Valentín or Joel González.

UCAM hosts the John Paul II International Institute for Charity and Volunteering sponsored by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which organises a university work campus in Pachacútec, a town in the Ventanilla District (Peru).