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Tsuru University was founded as the Temporary School for Teacher Training in 1953.

Progressing rapidly to become the Municipal Junior College, training primary school teachers, in 1955 and a university with four-year courses by 1960, in 2009 it shifted from its previous municipal status to become a public university.

While teacher training remains important, it has broadened its focus to the humanities as a whole, calling itself an "Institute of Human Experience" and aiming to produce people with specialised skills who "also have the culture of a broader education".

A reorganisation in 2018 split the previous single faculty into two: letters and liberal arts. Letters incorporates primary education, Japanese, English, social sciences, comparative cultures and global education while liberal arts includes teacher education and community and society.

With around 3,000 students in the relatively small city of Tsuru City, much is made of the attractions of the campus - which is described as "abundant with trees that blossom and change colours with the season" and includes a small forest heavily populated with flying squirrels - and of relations with the local community showing "a warmth that cannot be found in any other place".

Tsurubunkadaigakumae station connects the university to the national rail network.

A long tradition of language-based exchange programmes includes links with the University of California and the Global Education Department¡¯s current programme where every semester, an average of 10 University of California students have the opportunity to take classes in Japanese language and culture. In exchange, Tsuru students are able to compete for the chance to study at any of the University of California campuses.

In 2014 the Japanese University Accreditation Association found strengths in the enrolment process and community programmes like the Student Assistant Teacher Programme (SAT) under which students work in local schools.

The university can also claim to be the nearest to Mount Fuji, one of the most popular landmarks in Japan.