The history of the university begins in 1959, when the Pedagogical Institute in Nitra was established. Initially, the higher education institution focused on training teachers for primary and later secondary schools. Since 1960, it has been training teachers for schools with Hungarian as the language of instruction. Later, it expanded its activities to the education of scientists and highly qualified professionals for various spheres of public and cultural life.
A significant milestone was the year 1992, when the College of Education in Nitra was constituted. In 1993, the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Natural Sciences were established. The Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra was approved by the National Council of the Slovak Republic on October 23, 1996. The solemn inauguration took place on February 13, 1997, with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic, the government of the Slovak Republic, rectors of higher education institutions, high church officials, and representatives of the cultural public of the Slovak Republic, the region, and the city of Nitra. The Old Church Slavonic chant performed by the university’s student choir on the day of the solemn inauguration evoked a contemplative atmosphere of the times when, during the work of Cyril and Methodius, Glagolitic became the first script of organized education and Old Church Slavonic became the first literary language in Great Moravia and within it, the Principality of Nitra.
The year 2001 saw the establishment of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health Care, and two years later, the Faculty of Central European Studies was created by merging the national sections of the faculties and the university.
In 2010, the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra defended its status as a university higher education institution.