Umaru Musa Yar¡¯adua University was founded by the state government as Katsina University in 2006. The university took its current name in honour of the former state governor Umaru Musa Yar'Adua who became be president of Nigeria and died in 2010.
The university started with 26 courses spread across faculties of education, humanities and natural and applied sciences. It has subsequently added law, social and management science, medicine and a postgraduate school. The university has plans to open faculties of veterinary medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, agriculture, social science, engineering and environmental studies.
The main campus is located just outside Katsina. The university dairy and poultry farm is located at Ministra in Malumfashi district.
Six academic journals are published at the university including the Al-Hikma Journal of Islamic Studies.