Every year, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) commemorates May 21 as its birth date. This date is the founding date of Institut Keguruan dan Ilmu Kependidikan (IKIP) Yogyakarta, the predecessor of UNY. IKIP Yogyakarta was inaugurated by the Minister of Higher Education and Science (PTIP) on May 21, 1964.
The history of IKIP Yogyakarta cannot be separated from the existence of the Faculty of Pedagogics (FP) of Universitas Gajah Mada which was established on September 19, 1955. At that time, the UGM Faculty of Pedagogics had two sections, namely the Education Section and the Physical Education Section.
On February 2, 1962, the Faculty of Pedagogics was split into three faculties, namely the Faculty of Education (FIP), the Faculty of Physical Education (FPD), and the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP). However, in 1963 the FPD was incorporated into the Department of Sports and became the Sekolah Tinggi Olahraga (STO).
At that time the demand for education was getting higher so the demand for teaching staff was also high. FKIP UGM was so popular that the number of students in 1962 reached 1469 people. To overcome this, then came the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture No. 92 of 1962 concerning the establishment of the Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG).
On January 3, 1963, the unification of FKIP and IPG into IKIP was implemented. Likewise with FIP which was then also incorporated into IKIP.
At the beginning of its growth in September 1965, IKIP Yogyakarta had five faculties, namely the Faculty of Education (FIP), the Faculty of Teacher Training of Exata Sciences (FKIE), the Faculty of Teacher Training of Literature and Arts (FKSS), the Faculty of Teacher Training of Social Sciences (FKIS), and the Faculty of Teacher Training of Engineering (FKT). IKIP Yogyakarta also does not have its own building. Lecture activities still use buildings owned by UGM, various public schools (elementary, junior high, and high school) in Yogyakarta, and buildings owned by the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. In 1977, STO joined IKIP Yogyakarta under the name of Faculty of Teacher Training and Sports Science (FKIK).
On January 1, 1971, there was an important development at IKIP Yogyakarta, namely the establishment of the IKIP Yogyakarta Central Library. As the heart of knowledge in higher education, library development is carried out directly under the rector. Meanwhile, starting in 1972 IKIP Yogyakarta used the Semester Credit System (SKS) for lectures. With the enactment of this SKS, starting in 1973 in one year there were two lecture registrations which were carried out on a semester basis replacing the previous system.
Starting in 1981/1982 IKIP Yogyakarta began to open a Masters program, namely the Educational Research and Evaluation study program. This program is the result of affiliation between IKIP Yogyakarta and IKIP Jakarta. On September 7, 1982 a Master's Program in Physics Education was also held. This program was an assignment from the Directorate General of Higher Education and its implementation received assistance from UGM. Then followed by the opening of the Master of Technology and Vocational Education on September 16, 1983.
In 1999 IKIP Yogyakarta was given an expanded mandate to become a University given by the government through Presidential Decree No. 93 of 1999. Along with that, there was an expansion of program orientation which focused on efforts to socialize IKIP Yogyakarta which was not only limited domestically, but towards a global outlook. The orientation of the program was added to the university's internationalization program.
The change of IKIP Yogyakarta into Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) does contain pros and cons in the community. This shows a strong and valid indication that IKIP Yogyakarta has indeed become an important part of the community life system and the national education system in Indonesia. The dynamics and discourse in the community illustrate the concern that teacher education will be neglected after IKIP Yogyakarta turns into UNY.
The anxiety of the community actually has positive nuances that spur UNY to be able to convince all parties that in the future it will still maintain teacher education. The change of IKIP Yogyakarta into UNY is expected to improve the teacher education system because the lecturers in the department can cross-fertilize their knowledge between those with educational backgrounds and those with basic science backgrounds.
In 2007, a survey from the Directorate General of Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia stated that UNY was the only Teacher Education Institution (LPTK) among 20 universities in Indonesia that deserved to enter (the most promosing university) into the world class. For this reason, UNY immediately formed a team of UNY Developers towards World Class University (WCU), which among other things was tasked with preparing a lattice of UNY development instruments towards WCU.
The hard work reaped results in 2009, as many as 11 work units in UNY were declared eligible to receive ISO 9001: 2000 certificate issued by PT Sucofindo Jakarta. The ceremony was conducted by the Minister of Education, Prof. Dr. Bambang Sudibyo, MBA. On April 21, 2009 through the Minister of Finance No. 130/KMK.05/2009, UNY has been established as a government agency that implements Public Service Agency Financial Management (PK-BLU) in full. In 2010, UNY implemented ISO 9001:2008. Currently UNY continues to improve itself through improving the quality of management of educational institutions and lecturers, excellence and leadership, as well as support facilities in all faculties and units with international standards. Since 2007 UNY has developed an integrated online learning paradigm (UNY E-learning) and subscribed to electronic journals from proQuest which contains no less than 700 international journals in the field of education. LAN access in the campus area through wireless has also been available through wifi hotspots at 43 strategic points with a coverage area reaching 80% of the campus area. In addition, UNY is also building networking with various universities and research centers around the world.
Based on Government Regulation Number 35 of 2022 dated October 20, 2022, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta officially became the 17th State University with Legal Entity (PTNBH). With this new status, UNY has again expanded the range of educational services through :
1. Faculty of Education, and Psychology
2. Faculty of languages, Arts, and Culture
3. Faculty of Mathematics, and Natural Sciences
4. Faculty of Social Sciences, Law, and Political Science
5. Faculty of Engineering
6 .Faculty of Health, and Sport Sciences
7. Faculty of Economics, and Business
8. Faculty of Vocation
9. Faculty of Medicine
10. Graduate School
