Founded in 1959 with a gift from the Ford Motor Company, it was initially known as the Dearborn Center, operating as a remote branch of the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan-Dearborn Fieldhouse, opened in 1978, serves as the home to the men's and women's basketball teams.

Pearson conducted studies that revealed a looming shortage of college-educated engineers and junior administrators within the company's future workforce.

As a result, Pearson discreetly reached out to higher education institutions in Metro Detroit, inquiring about their willingness to adapt their programs to align with the anticipated requirements of the automotive industry.

[8] On December 17, 1956, the Ford Motor Company gifted both land and capital development funds to the Regents for the creation of a remote branch of the university offering upper-division undergraduate and master's level programs.

[10] The Dearborn Center would also have a cooperative work-study requirement for its programs in business administration and engineering,[9] which were intended to provide students with real-world experience that would increase their employment prospects.

[9] Construction on the Dearborn Center began on May 22, 1958,[11] and on October 1 of that year, William E. Stirton was appointed its first director.

[16] In May 1969, the Dearborn Campus Planning Study Committee released their report on the future of the institution, which recommended the addition of lower-division undergraduate courses and the expansion of non-cooperative programs.

This initiative, reflecting a national trend toward expanding higher education, faced strong opposition from faculty and students in Dearborn, leading to its eventual failure.

Meanwhile, the Dearborn campus continued to grow under the policies of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, receiving independent accreditation in August 1970 and officially being renamed in April 1971.

[18] In July of that year, Leonard E. Goodall, the vice-chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, was appointed UM–Dearborn's first chancellor.

[26] He soon faced a major financial crisis on campus that stemmed from a recession in the state, which resulted in a $500,000 cut from the university's base budget in April 1981.

[28] The university received a 13.2% increase in its annual appropriation from the state legislature in 1984–85, which enabled it to restore the 3% salary raises that it had cut in 1981–82.

[31] In September 1989, the university began its $11.6 million General Campus Renovation Project, entirely funded by the State of Michigan.

In summer 1990, the university terminated its varsity ice hockey program, resulting in head coach Tom Anastos and athletic director Sid Fox announcing their departures from Dearborn.

[32] In October, Wilson announced that hockey would become a club sport and the university's basketball and women's volleyball teams would compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

[33] In April 1991, graduate enrollment at UM–Dearborn exceeded 1,000 for the first time, and in July of that year revenue from tuition surpassed state appropriations.

[56] Main Campus includes the facilities for the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters (CASL), the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS), the Environmental Interpretive Center, Administration, the Mardigian Library, the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Studies, the University Center, the Computing Building, and the Fieldhouse.

There is a small waterfall, rose garden, meadow, a lake, and reflecting pond surrounded by acres of forest.

The forest has many walking paths which connect the Environmental Interpretive Center, Henry Ford Community College, Downtown West Dearborn, Hines Drive, the university's Main Campus, and Fair Lane together.

[58] In the fiscal year 2022–23, the State of Michigan provided $28.18 million to the university, which represents 14.67% of its total operating budget.

[58] Revenue from government sponsored programs contributed $20.5 million to the Expendable Restricted Funds, accounting for 10.67% of the total operating budget.

CASL traces its origins to the establishment of the Literature, Science, and the Arts division in fall of 1960,[59] which assumed its current name and college-level status in June 1973.

[60] The main building houses the college's administrative offices and the departments of Behavioral Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Literature Philosophy Arts (LPA) and Language Culture and Communication (LCC).

[44] The College of Education, Health, & Human Services (CEHHS) offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs.

It also offers certificate programs for future and current teachers and opportunities for its students in the Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC).

[70] USNWR undergraduate rankings[72] The university offers nine ABET-accredited engineering bachelor degree programs.

The U.S. Department of Education reports that as of 2024, federally aided students attending UM-Dearborn 10 years after they began their studies had a median annual income of $59,649 (based on 2020-2021 earnings adjusted to 2022 dollars), which exceeds both the midpoint for 4-year schools of $53,617 and U.S. real median personal income of $40,460 for the year 2021 adjusted to 2022 dollars.

[70][74][75] The highest-earning (median) fields of study for federally aided students include:[70] The five highest-earning (median) undergraduate fields of study for federally aided students at UM-Dearborn are:[70] The university's athletic teams are called the Wolverines (or Michigan-Dearborn Wolverines).