It was established in 2014, initially accommodating a modest intake of one hundred and forty students.

[2] It incorporates the infrastructure of three existing institutions – the Lowveld College of Agriculture, the hospitality school at KaNyamazane and the Siyabuswa Education Campus.

This decision was instrumental in facilitating for the establishment of a university in the Mpumalanga Province.

In 2010, the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr B E Nzimande, appointed two task teams to investigate the feasibility of establishing new universities in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.

In July 2013, the State President, Mr Jacob Zuma, announced the name of the new university as the University of Mpumalanga as well as the names of the members of the Interim Council to oversee its formal establishment.