However, in a feasibility study conducted by Hannah et al., it dismissed the idea of creating a permanent constituent campus of UP in Mindanao due to financial concerns.

[7] On November 24–25, 1989, the UPAA Davao Chapter hosted the 12th UP Alumni Institute with Senator Vicente Paterno as keynote speaker.

1st District Representative Prospero Nograles introduced House Bill 13382, also known as "Act to Establish the University of the Philippines in Mindanao".

It turned out that Ramos had already instructed Javier to create a fact-finding committee composed of Regents Oscar Alfonso, vice-president for Planning Fortunato dela Peña, Atty.

At the same time, the committee also talked with Bureau of Plant Industry director Nerios Roperos for the segregation of 204 hectares of the BPI area in Bago Oshiro for the UP Mindanao campus.

To emphasize the importance of RA 7889 to the Mindanaoans, a re-enactment of the signing was held at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, with President Ramos himself in attendance.

It was temporarily installed at the CSM grounds, then later moved to its permanent location at the Oblation Circle, in front of the Administration Building.

The Board of Regents granted full autonomy to UP Mindanao on February 26, 1998, making it the sixth and latest constituent unit of the UP System.

Due to increased protests by students and some faculty members, the university was closely guarded by the Philippine National Police, the Army and ROTC corps during the visit of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the laying-down of the capsule for the Biotechnology Complex at CSM in 2009; many protesters, mostly from UPMin and some from other universities within the region, rallied at the Administration Building and barricaded Kanluran Road so as to block the passage of the Presidential convoy.

In that year, Banwa's journal issue on sago (Metroxylon sagu) was named as "Most Outstanding Monograph" by the National Academy of Science and Technology.

"[7] The House of Representatives, under the Committee on Higher and Technical Education, approved on February 10, 2010, House Bill 3076 (An act providing for the Development Fund for the Medium-Term Development Plan of UP Mindanao) authored by First District Congressman Karlo Alexei B. Nograles providing UPMin with PhP1.2 billion for the construction of vital facilities set out by the UP Mindanao Land Use and Master Development Plan of 2009, including the CHSS and SOM Buildings, Student Dormitory, DOST-SEI-CSM Biotechnology Facility, among others, spread over four years.

During the Kasadya celebrations on December 17, 2010, Bt Eggplant samples planted by the university as part of its scientific research program was uprooted by personnel from the City Agriculturist's Office while the whole community was at the Peoples' Park for the said event.

The last year of Chancellor Rivero's term saw the rapid improvement of the road system within UPMin, with the construction of the Mindanao Avenue, which directly connects the Administration Building to Mintal via the Sitio Basak Road and downtown Davao via the Davao-Bukidnon Highway, and the initial repair and construction of the Oblation Circle, due in part to HB 3076.

The main academic symposium, Science for Society, was on February 16, with DOST Undersecretary Amelia Guevara as the keynote speaker.

[14] In 2019, former School of Management (SOM) dean Larry N. Digal was appointed by the Board of Regents as the fifth chancellor of UP Mindanao, from March 1, 2019, to February 28, 2022.

His term show the rapid expansion of the university's academic, research, and public service offerings, including the institution of two new degree programs (Associate in Sports Studies under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Ph.D. in Management under the School of Management), the conferment of 14 new faculty and several administrative items, and the continuing infrastructure development in the campus; the CHSS Cultural Complex, EBL Residential Hall Annex, Center for Advancement of Research in Mindanao (CARIM) Building, and the operational completion of the Davao City-UP Sports Complex happened under his term.

[4] Amidst these successes, his term witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects to university operations, with the university responding to the health crisis through a shift to remote learning, intensified research and public service activities related to the pandemic, and allowed the City Government of Davao to use its Faculty & Staff Housing building and the Athletic Gymnasium in the Davao City–UP Sports Complex as isolation facilities for light to moderately-affected patients.

The Council exercises disciplinary power over the students through its Chancellor or Executive Committee within the limits prescribed by the rules of discipline approved by the Board Regents.

Niño and the Mindanao Science Centrum at Barangay Bago Oshiro further define the area as an "academic and research hub".

Furthermore, the UP Mindanao Land Use and Master Development Plan aims to create UP Mindanao a "Green University Town", being a "garden" campus with emphasis on the Mindanaoan culture, with each building reflecting each ethnolinguistic group in Mindanao[6] Office structures Academic structures Residential structures Kalimudan Student Center (Kalimudan) – opened in August 2010, Kalimudan houses commercial establishments, offices, and related facilities Road Network As with the other UP units, the university is home to many student organizations that sponsor many activities, most notably during the month of August, September, December and February.

In 2012, a proposal has been submitted to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to create a formal jeepney route from UP Mindanao to Mintal.

This route, also called "UPMin Ikot", travels from the College of Science and Mathematics (Kanluran), Administration Building (Admin/CHSS), Sitio Basak (stopping by at the nearby dormitories and boarding houses), downtown Mintal, then finally at the Holy Spirit Hospital, where the public transportation system connects the university to downtown Davao through the Calinan-Mintal-Roxas Avenue jeepney route.

During the first day of classes for every academic year, the whole community gathers at the Atrium to welcome the freshmen with an acquaintance ceremony, in which members of the administration, faculty, heads of the colleges, staff and students are introduced.

Usually done weeks after the formal opening of classes, the Torch Night involves the symbolic passing of the lit torch, symbolizing responsibility and privilege as "Iskolar ng Bayan", by the upperclassmen, represented by the bloc leaders of the earlier freshmen batch, to the current bloc leaders of the freshmen batch of each degree program.

Done usually in the middle of the first semester of the academic year two weeks before the moratorium, students get together with their teachers in the spirit of enjoyment, sportsmanship and camaraderie.

Many would copy the look of their favorite movie/cartoon/book characters, some would dress up in formal attire, others try to cross-dress, some do cosplay, and a brave few would enter classes with little clothing at all.

In the evening, a program is held which consists of talent shows, a presentation of the best-dressed people during the day, and a free concert, participated by musical bands within the university.

A Cebuano word meaning "joy or happiness," Kasadya is the highlight of the university-wide Christmas celebration that starts during December and continues through the month.

Residents of the Elias B. Lopez Hall also celebrate their Dorm Week during this period, with events such as workshops, talkshows, quiz bees, the Open House (where students not living inside the dormitory can enter the rooms of dormers throughout the day), competitions for the cleanest and best-decorated rooms, and the much-awaited Mistress of the Dorm, a beauty pageant of cross-dressing male dormers.

This event aims to gather the former students, faculty, and staff of UP Mindanao since its institution in 1995, and offers an avenue for them to reunite with their former classmates, schoolmates, professors, and the university.