The process of founding the country's public university began on 11 June 1833, when a law proposed by then-Senator Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga was passed.

That decree had few practical effects, given the institutional instability of the Oriental Republic of the Uruguay at that time.

Notable professors include Jorge Gamarra, Alejandro Abal, Alberto Perez Perez, Dora Bagdassarian, Helios Sarthou, Carlos Delpiazzo, Gonzalo Fernández, and Daniel Ferrere.

In an effort to decentralize higher education, the university has opened schools in cities other than Montevideo.

At the Casa Universitaria in Rivera, the Faculty of Sciences offers the Technicature in Management of Environmental Resources, which has a duration of two and a half years.