Universitat Ramon Llull was created on March 1st, 1990, and approved by the Parliament of Catalonia on May 10th, 1991. URL was founded as a not-for-profit private university with Humanist and Christian ideals, dedicated to providing public service. Its founding members include the current Faculty of Philosophy, whose origins date back to the last century; IQS, founded in 1905; Fundació Blanquerna, founded in 1948; and La Salle, which traces its history back to 1903. On October 10th, 1989, these institutions, under the Presidency of Cardinal Narcís Jubany and jointly with the Fundació Cercle d’Economia and backing from distinguished representatives of Catalan civil society, established the foundation which would lead to the creation of Universitat Ramon Llull Fundació.

This foundation currently represents the URL’s maximum governing body through its Board of Trustees. After its creation, Universitat Ramon Llull incorporated new federated institutions, including the Ebro Observatory University Institute, ESADE, Pere Tarrés Faculty of Social Education and Social Work, Vidal i Barraquer University Institute of Mental Health, Borja Institute of Bioethics and the ESDI Higher School of Design (as an affiliated centre).