It became a proper university in 1976, and today is one of the major institutions of higher learning in Bosnia and Herzegovina.From there, more faculties were added and enrollment increased until an independent university of higher education was created in 1976.1970's was a decade of exponential rise in number of higher education institutions in the former Yugoslavia when alongside Tuzla universities in Osijek, Rijeka, Split, Mostar, Podgorica, Bitola, Maribor, Banja Luka and Kragujevac all opened their doors.In the 2000s, the Basketball club UKK Student, which competes in A1 League (2nd Tier on Pyramid), was established at the university.Since 2016, the Faculty of Philosophy publishes the journal Social Sciences and Humanities Studies (Društvene i humanističke studije DHS).