Vinnytsya high pedagogical educational institution was founded in 1912. It was the teacher's institute, where the students (about 100 of them) had a 3-year period of training.

In 1920 the teacher's institute was reorganized into the Institute of National Education (INE). There were two departments - preschool and school with the following scientific disciplines: philological -historical and natural historical - geographic.

According to the decree of the Ukrainian government thel former INEs became institutes of social education in 1930. Vinnytsya establishment of such kind had four departments: historical and economical, agrobiological, philological, technical and economical. To improve the quality and amount of teaching facilities certain measures were held, particularly, agrobiological station was built, different subject labs were equipped.

There was lack of teachers in the Ukraine. The Board of People's Commissariat of education made a decision on introduction of the new system of their training: the institutes of social education were reorganized in pedagogical institutes with four-year period of training. Thus, our institute was transformed into a pedagogical establishment where specialists were trained at physical and mathematical, philological, historical departments. Then the first scientific conference was held in the institute, the student's scientific groups became more active. Such outstanding scientists as the corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine professor mathematician-methodologist Astryab, the member of VUAN professor Bernatskiy, writer Grigoriy Kochur and others worked among the lecturers and teachers this very time.

The war interrupted study. The teachers, students, graduates courageously battled against fascism at the front, in partisan troops, undergrounds with fortitude. The invaders destroyed labs, auditoriums and library of the institute.

After Vinnytsya had been liberated from the fascist aggressors in 1944, the institute renewed its activity. Step-by-step teaching and educational process was arranged. In 50s the new departments appeared: the department of foreign languages, of physical training, of training of elementary school teachers. But the pick of the institute's development was in 70-90s. The new departments, specialties appeared. In 1979 it became the fourth high pedagogical educational establishment of the first category in the Ukraine. In 1993 the institute was given the license for teaching ten specialties of the fourth level of accreditation and two specialties of the third level of accreditation, and in 1997 the Ministry of education certified 14 more specialties.

According to the decree of the Cabinet of the Ukraine from February 4, 1998 # 122 Vinnitsya state pedagogical university named after Mykhailo Kotsubinskiy was founded on the basis of Vinnytsya state pedagogical institute. In June 1998 the pedagogical university was accredited as the fourth category establishment.