The University of Tirana was established by Decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania, No. 207, dated 30.05.1957, named "State University of Tirana".

The University of Tirana at its creation had 6 faculties. The first beginnings for the establishment of this first institution of higher education in Albania can be found in 1946, when the two-year Higher Pedagogical Institute was opened and in 1947, when the Institute of Sciences was opened. During the years 1946-1956, six higher institutes operated in Tirana: the Pedagogical Institute, the Polytechnic Institute, the Medical Institute, the Agricultural Institute, the Economic Institute and the Legal Institute. On the basis of these institutes, the first university-type higher education institution was founded, which was called the State University of Tirana. This institution was established to meet the growing needs of the country for qualified specialists. A large number of qualified professors in foreign universities made a great contribution to the growth and consolidation of the institution.

In the first academic year 1957-1958, the university had 3613 students. Students would graduate in 15 specialties. In 1967, the university took its full form with the construction of its first campus, giving this university a greater dynamism. Thus, after 20 years since its creation, in 1977 the number of students without severance from work reached 8880; of which about half were girls. It should be noted that in these first years, 21368 students were graduated, who were then engaged in the most difficult sectors of the country's life.

In 1991, the engineering faculties were separated from the UT (at that time with 11 faculties) and the Polytechnic University of Tirana was established with the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 215, dated 15.07.1991. In January 2013, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Technical Medical Sciences (former Faculty of Nursing) were separated from the University of Tirana to create the University of Medicine.

Today, the University of Tirana is the largest public university in the country. It consists of 6 faculties and 2 institutes, has 174 programs in all three study cycles, full-time internal academic staff 779 lecturers and about 23551 students. The University of Tirana, thanks to its tradition, high level of preparation, qualification and certification, remains the most sought-after university in the Republic of Albania. It is aimed at the majority of students who graduate from high school in the Republic of Albania and in Albanian territories outside the state borders of the Republic of Albania. The UT was decorated by the President of the Republic with the decoration "Order of Honor of the Nation" with the motivation for the outstanding contribution to the development of science, education, culture and the Albanian economy with the decree No. 1959, dated 19.11.1997.