The history of the University of Tocantins begins in February 1990 through Decree 252/90. Law 326/91, of October 1991, that structured the University of Tocantins as an autarchy. Law 872/96, of November 1996, determined the process of extinction of the autarchy, and in the same year, by Law 874/96, of November 1996, the creation of the then University Foundation of Tocantins (Unitins) was authorized, as a Public Foundation of Private Law, maintained by public and private entities, with support from the State Government, having its headquarters and forum in Palmas, capital of the State.
To better serve the population of the State, Unitins articulated itself for the implementation of extension centers in the municipalities of Arraias, Guaraí, and Tocantinópolis, incorporating the faculties of Araguaína and Porto Nacional and over time established in its multicampus system the University Centers of Arraias, Araguaína, Colinas, Guaraí, Miracema do Tocantins, Paraíso, Palmas, Tocantinópolis and Porto Nacional, standing out as a higher education institution in the regional context.
In 2000, Unitins began a new adaptation process with the creation of the Federal University of Tocantins Foundation (UFT). Once again, it was necessary to legally change the structure of Unitins - Foundation, and therefore Law 1.160/2000, of June 21, 2000, was dictated.
With the transfer of part of its property to UFT, in addition to its students and regular degree programs, Unitins assumed a new academic and physical reality. To this end, with Decree 1.672/2002, on December 27, 2002, and also Law 1.478/2004, of June 2004, which included new directions for the institution, other modalities of higher education programs, removed from its structure the university campuses and isolated schools; entrusted it with the State Coordination of Agricultural Research; attributed to it the responsibility of organizing and carrying out, directly or indirectly, the contests for the provision of positions of the Executive Power.
In the period from 2001 to 2002, the institution offered tele-presential courses in Languages, Mathematics, History, Science, Education, aiming to provide training for approximately 12,000 teachers from the state and municipal education systems.
In 2003, Unitins structured the Tocantinense Archaeology Center (Nuta) and, in the same period, the Ministry of Science and Technology, through the Department of Research and Development Policy and Programs, inserted the State Center for Meteorology and Water Resources of Unitins (Nemet/RH) in the MCT Program for the Implementation and Modernization of State Centers for Monitoring Weather, Climate and Water Resources (PMTCRH), of which Nemet/RH became a participant, characterized fundamentally by being a partnership between the MCT and the State of Tocantins.
In 2004, Unitins also took the role of State Agricultural Research Organization (OEPA), through Law No. 1,478/2004, of June 25, 2004, to develop agricultural research, generating technologies and innovations that provide competitive solutions for the sustainable rural and territorial development of Tocantins, for the benefit of society.
In the same year, the accreditation process and authorization of the institution's operation in the distance modality occurred by MEC Ordinance No. 2,145, published in the Official Gazette No. 138, on July 20, 2004. The Education undergraduate program, in progress, would now be offered nationally.
In 2005, it implemented undergraduate programs in Business Administration and Accounting, covering 17 states and the Federal District. In 2005/2, the sequential program at a higher level of Fundamentals and Judicial Practices was implemented, only in the state of Tocantins, to qualify the employees of Justice and others interested in these fields of knowledge.
In the following year, more openings were offered for the Business Administration and Accounting undergraduate programs, and two others were implemented, Education and Social Work, expanding to 25 federative units and the Federal District. In 2007, in addition to the continuity of the courses mentioned above, the degrees in Languages and Mathematics and the associate degree in System Analysis and Development were implemented, a new selection process for the Education Program and, through interinstitutional partnerships, new classes started for the Accounting, Business, and Social Work.
In the second term of 2007, through a public notice, eighty places were offered for free face-to-face courses in Mining Technology and AgriAdministrationTechnology focused on the vocation of the Region.
From 2008 to 2009, MEC disallowed the creation of new courses and the opening of new vacancies for ongoing courses in the distance learning format. As a result, the academic community mobilized together with civil society to establish new directions for the university by creating new face-to-face courses.
In 2010, with the support of the Multilateral Commission composed of members of State bodies (Unitins, Court of Auditors, Attorney General's Office, Court of Justice, Public Prosecutor's Office, Governor's Office, and Legislative Assembly), the institution was authorized to start offering face-to-face undergraduate programs. The Councils (Consepe and Consuni) were rearticulated, the institutional regiments were revised, and new policies and action plans of the pro-chancellors were realigned. The Jobs, Careers, and Salaries plan of the University of Tocantins Foundation - Law No. 2,317 - was approved by the State Legislative Assembly on March 30, 2010, and published in Official Gazette No. 3,107 on March 31, 2010.
By unanimous approval in the instances of Consepe, Consuni and the Board of Trustees, (Resolution No. 003/2010 / Board of Trustees), the first entrance exam was held in July 2010 for the face-to-face courses in Agronomic Engineering, Law, Information Systems, and Social Work. Unitins was accredited with the UAB System through MEC Ordinance n° 837/2010, of June 24, 2010, to offer undergraduate courses in Literature and Education, starting with classes in 2011.
In the same year, actions, such as the Flow Correction Program and the Re-entry Project, were implemented to finalize the eight undergraduate courses in the Online-Associated modality (Business, Accounting, Legal Foundations and Practices, Portuguese-Spanish Letters, Mathematics, Education, Social Work, Technology and System Analysis).
On July 14, 2016, Law No. 3,124 was sanctioned, which transformed the University of Tocantins from a foundation to a special regime state autarchy, adopting as its official name "State University of Tocantins". Unitins employees became part of their staff and are governed by the Statute of Civil Servants of Tocantins (Law No. 1818 of August 23, 2007). Other changes to the law were: the election for rector and vice-rector in 2020, with a three-year term; the reservation of 25% of vacancies at the university for students from the public network; and the adoption of the official colors of the State (blue, yellow and white) to identify the university.