UCU started as a rewarding concept of Dr. Pedro T. Orata, world-renowned educator and Ramon Magsaysay awardee to establish an education complex that will provide basic education all the way through higher education in a single compound.
With mayor Amadeo R. Perez Jr., Orata founded UCU using the proceeds of the 1966 town fiesta celebration. Like the community colleges of the U.S.A., the college started with an enrollment of 144 students, who came from the rural areas.
The college, using the facilities of Urdaneta City National High School (UCNHS) for its early years, commenced with the provisional permit to open a two-year General Education course granted by the Secretary of Education on February 4, 1966. The Secretary further approved the program for non-formal education; hence, short-term courses in agriculture and retail business for adults were also offered to assist them in enhancing their earning capabilities.
After two years, the first batch of General Education, 84 members, graduated. This paved the way to the opening of a four-year Education program which was granted in 1968. Later on, UCC offered degrees in Nursing in 1975, Commerce and Accountancy, and Computer Education in 1996. It also introduced short-term courses in Midwifery (1973), Computer Education (1990) and Caregiver Training (2002).
When Urdaneta became a city on March 21, 1998, UCC likewise recognized the need to adopt a new name. Consequently, in 2001, Mayor Amadeo R. Perez, Jr. broadened the school's education services and changed its name to City Colleges of Urdaneta (by virtue of City Resolution No. 61 which took effect on November 2001). In 2005, the name was further amended as the Urdaneta City University.
On January 13, 2004, CCU became the first Character School in Region I, inculcating in its students the need not just for academic excellence but, more importantly, character transformation.
