UNY was previously part of a faculty at Gadjah Mada University which eventually formed a separate institution called the Yogyakarta Teacher Training and Education Institute (IKIP Yogyakarta).

The conversion of IKIP Yogyakarta from a specialized training institution into a comprehensive university was based on some considerations.

One of them is the observation that the organizational structure of an educational institution was insufficient to support scientific development and that the number of graduates of IKIP Yogyakarta who entered non-teaching fields also increased.

There are seven faculties: UNY also has many postgraduate programs : Yogyakarta State University is a multi-campus university, with one main campus and four regional campuses spread across several cities and district in the Special Region of Yogyakarta province.

The following is a list of the main campuses and areas of Yogyakarta State University: In 2013, the profile was as follows: 1025 research studies from 2010 to 2012, 9 (7 national and 2 international) research studies obtaining intellectual property rights in 2012, 261,802 books in SUY's central library consisting of public works, philosophy, psychology, religion, social sciences, languages, fundamental sciences, applied sciences & technology, arts & sports, literature, and history & geography (as of April 2013) The Institute of Research and Community Service (IRCS) runs nine research and development centers: The Institute of Educational Development and Quality Assurance (IEDQA) [14] is one of main structures at State University of Yogyakarta.