Established in April 1984, City University Malaysia was founded by a group of scholars. Originally known as Petaling Jaya Community College. the University attained full university status in 2016.

The University, alongside City University Press, are subsidiaries of U.C.I. Education Sdn. Bhd. City University Press publishes the CUeJAR, an e-journal. As a research university, the University offers five doctoral programs in the fields of business (PhD & DBA), information technology (PhD), design (PhD), and education (PhD & EdD).