It was founded on January 9, 1976, two years after the Carnation Revolution that ended several decades of dictatorship in Portugal, but before the Portuguese Third Republic was institutionalized, along with the region's autonomy.

Due to a level of academic disorder on the continent, that forced the closing of many universities, several of the wealthier families sent their children to the United States or Canada in order for them to complete their studies.

A small group of academics and elites explored alternatives in order to lower costs, distances and reduce the impact of national government centralization.

On 25 July 1980, with the promulgation of the Decree-Law 252/80 formalizing the establishment of an institute of higher education, the community began to refer to it as the University of the Azores.

In order to effectively provide educational services to the regional population, the university established three campuses, in Ponta Delgada (São Miguel), Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira) and Horta (Faial), and organized into departments and schools to, essentially, provide instruction and investigation services.