KDU College was founded in 1983 with its main location in Petaling Jaya made it one of the first private colleges in Malaysia to have its own purpose-built campus. Complementing the National Education Policy, KDU College continues to help meet the educational needs of the country by initiating cost-saving programmes and opening doors for young Malaysians to further their education in academic, professional, vocational and technical areas, both locally and abroad. It pioneered the American Universities Transfer Programme in Malaysia. In 1987, the British Twinning Degree Programme was introduced at KDU.

KDU College Penang (KDU Penang) began her chapter when she opens her door to enrol the first batch of students in 1991. Since then, the KDU College Penang has grown by leaps and bounds. Now, sitting proudly at Jalan Anson, KDU Penang houses more than 2,500 students who hail from neighbouring states in the Northern Region as well as foreign countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, China, Mongolia, Japan and Europe.

KDU has evolved into one of the leading higher learning institutions in the country, offering a commendable range of industry-driven courses. KDU offers a wide range of programmes at Certificate, Diploma, Degree and Postgraduate levels. The Certificate and Diploma courses were internally developed while the Degree and Postgraduate programmes are conducted in collaboration with prestigious foreign universities.

KDU prides itself with its impressive alumni of more than 45,000 graduates. Many have successfully transferred to universities around the world to further their studies and have emerged as top students from these universities to become competent graduates who excel in their workplace. The college's high standards of academic provision are well recognised by employers of various industries and universities worldwide.

Continuing its tradition of excellence, KDU College has embarked on a RM10 million Smart Initiative Project. The project will ensure that the college advances with time and employs information technology for research and teaching purposes. With the rapid progress in information technology and systems, KDU College recognises that education has taken on a new meaning. The total experience of higher education is a shared one, a synergy between student and instructor, between the institution and the student body and the parents. It is with this aim, that KDU College is unwavered in its commitment to forge a strong "Partnership" with students to help them realise their dreams and with parents to ensure that their investments in their children are realised abundantly.

In October 2010, KDU College Petaling Jaya has been awarded and upgraded to university college status by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia and shall hence forth be known as KDU University College (KDU UC) whilst KDU Penang remains at college status.

KDU College Penang is a subsidiary of Paramount Corporation Berhad Group, a public listed company with a strong property arm consisting of Property Development, Property Investment and Property Construction. Its education arm is made up of KDU University College (Damansara Jaya, Section 13, Petaling Jaya and Glenmarie Campus), KDU College Penang, KDU Management Development Centre (KMDC) and Sekolah Sri KDU, a premier Smart School at the primary and secondary levels.

Over the years, the KDU Education Division may have grown in size and strength but its commitment remains the same: To provide quality education, be it in academics or life in general. KDU believes that people should learn more from people and be inspired by their life's experiences.

People Inspire People. This is not just KDU’s tagline but it embodies the college’s mission to provide superior learning experiences in a caring and conducive environment for its students to realise their full potential to become individuals who are successful and relevant; and will contribute positively to society.

KDU is building a nation. Its nation comprises of a group of like-minded individuals with a shared vision of working together in its quest for excellence and uncompromising quality. Together with other key stakeholders – students, partners and the community – the KDU nation has grown from strength to strength. Together, the KDU nation aspires to inspire people to greatness.