On March 7, 1887, Croatan Normal School was established after legislation sponsored by Representative Hamilton McMillan of Robeson County was enacted by the General Assembly of North Carolina. The law, which was in response to a petition from American Indians of the area, established a Board of Trustees and appropriated $500 to be used only for salaries. The school was established to train American Indian teachers.

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A clapboard, two-story building was constructed by local Indians at a site about one mile west of the present location, and the school opened with 15 students and one teacher in the spring of 1888. For many years, the instruction was at the elementary and secondary level, and the first diploma was awarded in 1905.

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The school was moved to its present location in Pembroke, the center of the Indian community, in 1909. The General Assembly changed the name of the institution in 1911 to the Indian Normal School of Robeson County, and again in 1913 to the Cherokee Indian Normal School of Robeson County. 

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The Board of Trustees approved the admission of white students up to 40 percent of the total enrollment in 1953, and, following the Supreme Court’s school desegregation decision, opened the College to all qualified applicants without regard to race in 1954. Growth of over 500 percent followed during the next eight years. 

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In 1969, the General Assembly changed the name again to Pembroke State University and designated the institution a regional university. 

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Three years later, in 1972, the General Assembly established the 16-campus University of North Carolina with Pembroke State University as one of the constituent institutions.

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Pembroke State University celebrated its centennial in 1987. On July 1, 1996, Pembroke State University officially became The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

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On July 5, 2005, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley signed into law Session Law 2005-153, declaring The University of North Carolina at Pembroke as "North Carolina's Historically American Indian University."

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​Today, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has approximately 6,200 students from diverse backgrounds. The University offers 41 undergraduate programs and 18 graduate programs.

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